Video: Chris Weidman returns to gym, lightly trains seven weeks after horrific leg break
Chris Weidman returned to the gym this week – and it wasn’t just for a visit
On Saturday, Weidman shared an Instagram video of himself training on the mats, which showed the former UFC middleweight champion lightly sparring. Weidman wrote about his experience and said he did more than he thought he could just seven weeks removed from breaking his leg in horrific fashion at UFC 261.
“I woke up yesterday with no plans on getting back in the gym. I just started driving again and was feeling good, so I said to my self I’m going to drive to the gym and try to hit the bag,” Weidman said. “I figured I would probably last a minute and then have to rest and elevate my leg, but I think the excitement carried me through. Once I got there and saw some of my guys, I couldn’t resist asking to do some drills and then eventually ‘spar’ kinda. Felt soooooo good to be back.”
Weidman (15-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) suffered a complete fracture of his right leg when he threw a kick in the opening seconds of his April 24 fight against Uriah Hall. Hall lifted his left leg to check the kick, and Weidman’s leg snapped instantly. He fell to the canvas in agony just 15 seconds in.
In a cruel instance of irony, the injury and manner in which it occurred were reminiscent of what happened to Anderson Silva in 2013 when Weidman checked a leg kick in their middleweight title rematch at UFC 168.
After Weidman broke his leg, he had surgery to have a titanium rod placed through his tibia.
On May 29, Weidman shared video of his first steps just five weeks removed from the injury. It seems his recovery is going well.
