(Weidman delivering an inspirational speech while still in his hospital bed, following surgery Wednesday | Via Weidman’s Youtube account)
The first step in Chris Weidman’s elaborate counter-plan to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva chasing super-fights and blatantly avoiding him was completed Wednesday, as the contender underwent successful shoulder surgery. Weidman went under the knife to repair a host of problems, including a torn AC joint and a torn labrum and rotator cuff.
Unbeaten in nine professional fights, Weidman set himself apart as the clear number one contender to Silva’s belt with wins over former title challenger Demian Maia and fellow top contender Mark Munoz. The Long Island native’s campaign towards gold came at an inconvenient time as the champion turned his attention instead towards fights with Stephan Bonnar and, potentially, Georges St. Pierre, claiming he had no interest in defending his belt for some time.
Weidman was then matched up with Tim Boetsch at UFC 155, but his recent injuries forced him to pull out of the bout. Silva is still campaigning for the fight with St. Pierre, but GSP seems reluctant, at best, to make it happen. With Silva off filming the next, great crime film epic and saying he won’t fight again until late 2013, it looks like he and the number one contender’s schedules might just match up once more. Through his twitter account, Weidman said, “Surgery went perfect…I will be 90 percent in three months and 100 in four!”
A title shot for the Serra/Longo protege would be the pot of gold at the end of…well, whatever the opposite of a nice rainbow is. Weidman saw his title shot hopes fade away because Anderson Silva’s management didn’t think he was a big enough deal, then had his new home destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, then blew out his shoulder, all in succession.
So what would you rather see at this point, nation — Anderson vs. GSP or Anderson vs. Weidman? We know we’re not getting our dream match-up any time soon…