Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman knows that he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Yet before he retires, he wants to get UFC gold once again, and he believes he will be able to do just that.
Since losing his belt to Luke Rockhold back in 2015, Weidman has gone 2-5 with his only wins being against Kelvin Gastelum in 2017, and a victory over Omari Akhmedov last August. It has been a tough road, to say the least.
Despite these setbacks, Chris has maintained that he will eventually earn another shot at the belt. He has even gone as far as to call himself a terrible matchup for current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, much to the dismissal of fans.
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Chris Weidman Lost 12 Pounds From COVID-19
In an attempt to put together his first winning streak in five years, Chris Weidman was signed up to face Uriah Hall in a rematch from a bout that took place before either were in the UFC. However recently, Chris was forced out after testing positive for COVID-19.
Speaking in a recent interview, he explained how difficult the road to recovery had been for him over the last few weeks. It turns out he lost about 12 pounds while dealing with the difficulties of this virus, a struggle that he was open about.
“First couple of days definitely sucked pretty bad. For about three days I had a fever, body aches, bad headache, and it just kind of sucked. And then after that, I just kind of felt tired. I would get these headaches randomly,” Weidman said.
“I had to take about two weeks off training. Now I feel good and I’m getting back in shape, but I guess taking two weeks off my proper training, even if I came back with no lingering effects, it’s just not the best timing for the fight.
“I didn’t expect to get my fight pushed back until April, I expected maybe a couple of weeks, but hopefully it’s a huge pay-per-view and a big opportunity, a big platform to be able to showcase my skills and make a big statement.”
“I also lost 12 pounds,” Weidman added. “I was eating soups and stuff. My appetite wasn’t that great and I ended up losing 12 pounds throughout the process. Which, I was like, wow, my weight cut is not gonna be as bad, I really got my weight low.”
From there, Chris joked about moving down to welterweight, but explained that he still had some concerns about lingering side effects from the coronavirus. This is something we have seen in other fighters who have caught the virus, and it scared him to think about.
“I’m good now, but it definitely took a little bit of an effect on me. There’s just so many question marks with like, lingering effects,” Weidman explained.
“I went on antibiotics and I took the Medrol Pak. I wanted to make sure I didn’t have any long-term lung issues. That was one of the scary things that I’ve heard a couple of times.”
Weidman even went as far as to say that he has seen these lingering effects in people he personally knows. He has not gotten a negative test yet, but his symptoms are gone and it’s been more than two weeks, so he says he is returning to training.
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Planning To Retire As Champion
Now once Chris Weidman is able to get back on track, he will be taking on Uriah Hall. The NCAA All-American feels that an impressive win here could put him on track towards the top of the division again.
In a perfect world, Chris wants to get back to another shot at the title. In his mind, he sees it as a very real possibility that he could win the title again, and then retire on top of the world, in fairytale fashion.
“A big win, a huge statement on pay-per-view, dominating finish definitely puts me back up in the mix. Whether it’s one, two, three fights until I’m fighting for the title, it definitely puts me back into the mix,” Weidman explained.
“To go out there and be able to finish Uriah Hall, I think puts me right back in the mix, especially with my resume already. So, I’m excited, man. I really want to finish my career on a high note. I want to finish it with that belt in my hands and be able to walk away. And I know I have the potential to do it, and I just gotta stay active and keep working hard, and the sky’s the limit.”
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Chris Weidman Goes After Paulo Costa
Another important fight expected to take place at middleweight soon, is the one between former champ Robert Whittaker, and Paulo Costa. Everyone knows that Costa is one of the most jacked people on the roster, including Chris Weidman.
When asked how he thought that fight would go, Chris picked Whittaker. Then it became clear that this was at least partially fueled by a dislike for Costa, as he went on to accuse the Brazilian of not being the most natural athlete on the roster.
“I think that’s a good matchup for Whittaker,” Weidman said.
“Obviously Paulo Costa is a big fricken monster, juice head probably… I’ve seen some old pictures of him and then now, and it’s crazy…
“He’s definitely a jacked dude, definitely stiff and gets tired. Adesanya just exposed him and picked him apart. That was a beautiful performance by him.
“Yeah, I think Whittaker wins that fight, though. I think because his movement, he’s got great movement in and out.”
It could be as simple as Chris Weidman just wanting to get the idea of a fight between he and Paulo Costa as a thought in fan’s heads. Either way, before he can even think about that, he will at least have to get past Uriah Hall.
