After Chris Weidman suffered a horrific leg injury in the opening moments of his fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 earlier this year (see it here), “All American” went under the knife to repair the damage. After starting rehab, Weidman had to undergo a second surgery, delaying his comeback even further.
Weidman is hoping his current setbacks won’t force him into retirement, but some — including Gegard Mousasi — think the former UFC Middleweight champion should call it a career.
Mousasi — who wasn’t clowning on Weidman and felt bad for his injury — feels when you compound the ex-champion’s countless injuries with the various knockout losses he’s suffered over the years, it should be a clear indication that it’s a good time to put a bow on a memorable combat career.
“If it was me and if I had 29 surgeries, I would say this is not good,” Mousasi said during a recent appearance on What The Heck (via MMA Fighting). “And especially if you get knocked out three or four times in a row, and then you break your leg in a bad way where it’s going to take a year to recover, at this age — he’s a little bit older than me I think, 37 maybe, and he’s going to come back at 38 or 39 — it’s difficult to come back. And then how long are you going to continue? At 38 or 39, you’re over your peak. You know what I mean?”
Since 2015, Weidman is just 2-6 with all six defeats coming by way of knockout. One of those defeats came at the hands of Mousasi at UFC 210 where “Dream Catcher” knocked out “All American” in the second round.
In Mousasi’s assessment, it isn’t going to get any easier for Weidman as he gets older and the chances of improving are slim.
“It’s not like you’re going to get better, especially coming [off] losses, losses, losses,” Mousasi continued. “That’s my opinion — I wouldn’t continue. If I had a serious injury like that, I would right away stop fighting at his age. At his age, I would retire.”
For now, Weidman, 37, hasn’t given any indication that he will retire despite many thinking it is the best course of action at this stage in his career. As for Mousasi, he will return to action this weekend (Fri., Aug. 13, 2021) to defend his Middleweight title against John Salter at Bellator 264.