Weidman (photo) injured his rib and was cut from UFC 184. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
The UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, spoke out for the first time since the injury that took him out of UFC 184 was announced at the end of the month, when he would face Vitor belfort by the title.
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The North American said that he injured his rib during a routine training session and that he tried to continue with the commitment anyway, but ended up being vetoed by the UFC's official doctor. “It was last week, and it happened overnight. I was training wrestling and I did a move I've done a million times. I heard three pops and felt great pain. I even became paralyzed. I had an MRI and wanted to fight anyway, but my doctor said it wouldn't be a good idea. My doctor called the UFC doctor in Las Vegas and he said he didn’t want me to fight”, explained the fighter, in an interview with the podcast “The MMA Hour”. “I was depressed for a few days, but now it’s gone. It's been very hard for me. I've struggled with injuries that would make many others give up, but this time it was impossible. It sucks.”
Despite having suffered the injury recently, Weidman already has an idea of when he will be able to fight again: “Initially, the doctor thought I might have torn a muscle between my ribs, which could be resolved with cortisone injections. . It hurts to cough, to sneeze, to move. I’m going to do physiotherapy and hope to return in April or May,” he said. “It's funny how people forget some things. I agreed to fight Alessio Sakara at the last minute with a proven rib injury. I fought with Lyoto Machida with a broken hand – I couldn't even hit handles in the locker room because of the pain I felt. I agreed to fight Demian Maia with ten days warning and I almost died cutting weight…. In a short time, I went from being the toughest guy in the world to a softie,” she said.
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Disappointed, Weidman even apologized to Vitor belfort. “Vitor is a good fit for me. It's very disappointing because I was in really good shape, in the best shape of my life. I apologize to the fans and to Vitor, but I will come back and reward everyone.”
However, the champion did not take kindly to the Brazilian's words, who complained that the fight between the two had been canceled for the third time because of the North American. “It’s an ignorant thing to say. He is ignoring a lot of information. When he says I left the fight three times, it doesn't make sense. Vitor failed his second drug test and would normally have been out for a year, but he was not licensed to fight. He was lucky not to get into trouble. He has no right to be angry, because he hasn't fought in a long time [since November 2013] and it's his fault alone. I already fought in July,” he said. “He supposedly shouldn't even be able to fight in February, because he was caught in the drug test in February. It’s crazy.”
Weidman also disagreed with the suggestion made by the UFC and Belfort to create an interim belt. “Anthony Pettis [Lightweight champion] didn't fight for a long time. [Cain] Velasquez [heavyweight champion] didn't fight for a long time. It's crazy to create an interim middleweight belt, since I haven't fought since July. But I understand that UFC 184 would be more attractive that way”, he pondered.
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