Chris Weidman’s coach, Ray Longo, says he feels bad for allowing the former middleweight champion to fight Luke Rockhold last December with a severe foot injury.
Earlier this month, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman revealed that he went into his UFC 194 title fight against Luke Rockhold, which he ultimately lost by 4th round TKO, with a fractured foot. He made it clear, however, that he was not trying to make any excuses, and still believes Rockhold deserves to be the titleholder at 185 pounds.
Weidman’s coach, Ray Longo, discussed the injury in an interview with ESPN.
“If you want to know the truth, he was banged up,” Longo said. “He had a fractured foot in two places. We tried to work around it, but I think mentally it had an effect on him, because he wasn’t able to push the cardio the right way.”
According to Longo, “The All-American” is no stranger when it comes to injuries.
“He has fought with injuries before. I’ve seen this guy walk through fire before, but as his coach, I feel bad. Maybe I should have been more vocal about this or that. You can’t make excuses. His teammate, Aljamain Sterling, was banged up going into his fight on Dec. 11 and he won. So, you never know.
“If you decide to fight, what can you do during camp? Put a boot on him, so someone takes a picture and he’s walking around in a boot? He didn’t wear one. It’s a nightmare. And these guys are my friends, so I’m in a weird spot sometimes. You basically have to tell them they’re not doing it.”
Although not officially announced, an immmediate rematch between Rockhold and Weidman is targeted for UFC 199 in June.