After being forced out of a planned UFC 155 bout opposite Tim Boetsch later next month due to an injured shoulder, rising middleweight contender Chris Weidman announced via Twitter earlier Thursday evening that he had a successful surgery on the ailmen…
After being forced out of a planned UFC 155 bout opposite Tim Boetsch later next month due to an injured shoulder, rising middleweight contender Chris Weidman announced via Twitter earlier Thursday evening that he had a successful surgery on the ailment and plans on returning to the Octagon some time in 2013.
Right after getting out of surgery, Weidman tweeted:
Surgery went perfect.On my way back to Long Island now.Had a torn labrum and rotator cuff, AC joint seperation and slight tear in ligament
This is awesome news for MMA fans—myself included—as I can’t wait to see Weidman get back inside the Octagon and hopes he has a speedy recovery. If this rising 185er can continue his hot streak when he returns in 2013, a title shot just might be in his immediate future.
If Weidman should ever face UFC champ Anderson Silva, he better make sure he at least looks a bit more cognisant than he does in this hilarious video following his surgery.
He sort of reminds me of that “David After Dentist” video from a few years back.
(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 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.
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…
Chris Weidman is a scary, scary dude. The two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler shocked the MMA world when he defeated veteran fighter Alessio Sakara on short notice in March 2011, and the “All-American” has not stopped winning since.&nbs…
Chris Weidman is a scary, scary dude.
The two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler shocked the MMA world when he defeated veteran fighter AlessioSakara on short notice in March 2011, and the “All-American” has not stopped winning since.
In this writer’s opinion, Weidman is the most skilled wrestler in the middleweight division, and his standup game is constantly evolving and improving, a point showcased in his most recent victory over Mark Munoz at UFC on Fuel TV 4.
Compounding this, Weidman is only a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so he will undoubtedly be refining his submission game as well. As a quick note, being a purple belt in BJJ is nothing to scoff at; go into your local gym and ask to roll with a purple belt. No thanks.
Still, while many middleweights possess higher-level jiu-jitsu on paper, Weidman‘s application of the craft is marvelous and he has two impressive submission wins inside the Octagon for his efforts.
All this in mind, Weidman is the perfect man to defeat Anderson Silva, right? He has elite wrestling, dominant top control, crafty submissions and adequate striking, so he’s the man for the job, right?
Yes, he is.
But Silva is not scared of him—get real.
Anderson Silva has accomplished more inside the UFC Octagon than any fighter before him. One can name on one hand the quantity of fighters with a realistic chance of usurping his position as the greatest fighter in UFC history.
To think this man would duck to a lower weight class to avoid Chris Weidman is absurd, and I mean no disrespect to Weidman in saying that. Hell, I wrote this article forever ago saying he is indeed the man to take Silva’s crown.
I’m a little uneasy to stand by it after Weidman‘s recent injury, but if he is the same fighter he was before the setback, he still is, in my eyes, the man to overthrow Silva’s reign.
I’m not kidding myself, though—Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre is about the money, the legacies and the unsurpassed star power. It’s about ratings and fame, statuses and titles.
It has nothing to do with Chris Weidman.
Silva is aware of Weidman and his skills, but he does not fear the man. He is not ducking him. Any thoughts that drift into this realm of questioning Silva’s integrity and manhood are absurd and invalid.
In my eyes, Silva has plenty to fear with Weidman. If one built a perfect fighter to take out Anderson (besides Anderson’s clone, as the man himself suggested), it would look a lot like Chris Weidman. A whole lot, in fact.
But Silva doesn’t see it that way, and why should he?
He is the man on top of the mountain, not the man clawing his way toward glory. As middleweight contenders climb the ladder to reach his level of achievement, he plays with them and lets them reach the top rung before stepping on their fingers and causing them to crash back to earth.
This is Anderson Silva—he is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, and his body of work under the UFC banner is unmatched.
Not that it matters to Anderson Silva, but UFC 155 was supposed to set the stage for a fight that would more or less* determine the next top contender of the middleweight division when Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch squared off. But as things are wont to do in 2012, it has just been announced that Weidman has suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced to pull out from his scheduled fight at UFC 155. Newsday was the first to break the news:
Chris Weidman, one of the top UFC middleweight fighters, is out of UFC 155 next month with a shoulder injury, Newsday has learned.
Weidman said the injury occured Tuesday while training in Arizona with UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader and Levittown-based Strikeforce light heavyweight Gian Villante. The injury occured during a grappling session, the 28-year-old Weidman said.
“I hit a double-leg and that’s it,” Weidman said Wednesday. “My shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t even move my arm.”
Weidman said that he hasn’t received an official diagnosis from doctors, but he believes it is a torn labrum.
Well, we should have seen this coming.
Not that it matters to Anderson Silva, but UFC 155 was supposed to set the stage for a fight that would more or less* determine the next top contender of the middleweight division when Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch squared off. But as things are wont to do in 2012, it has just been announced that Weidman has suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced to pull out from his scheduled fight at UFC 155. Newsday was the first to break the news:
Chris Weidman, one of the top UFC middleweight fighters, is out of UFC 155 next month with a shoulder injury, Newsday has learned.
Weidman said the injury occured Tuesday while training in Arizona with UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader and Levittown-based Strikeforce light heavyweight Gian Villante. The injury occured during a grappling session, the 28-year-old Weidman said.
“I hit a double-leg and that’s it,” Weidman said Wednesday. “My shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t even move my arm.”
Weidman said that he hasn’t received an official diagnosis from doctors, but he believes it is a torn labrum.
It’s the latest in the continuing trials and tribulations for the Long Islander, who recently had his home all but completely destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Besides missing the payday, this has to be exceptionally disappointing for Weidman, who, barring some sort of insane last minute comeback, would have likely cruised past Boetsch and cemented his spot as the top middleweight contender. But again, even an impressive victory would do little to impress Silva, who has already stated that he isn’t the least bit interested in fighting Weidman. If you ask me, it’s Weidman’s own fault for lacking the drawing power of a Chael Sonnen or a Lorenzo Lamas. Maybe if he starts ripping off WWE speeches while doing burnouts with his Harley, Anderson will start to play ball.
But there is a silver lining in this storm cloud, albeit an infinitesimal one. Stepping up in Weidman’s absence will be streaking middleweight contender Costa Philippou, who was recently given a severe case of blue balls when Nick Ring pulled out of their UFC 154 fight on just one day’s notice after coming down with the flu. Philippou is currently 4-1 in the UFC, and most recently scored a unanimous decision over Riki Fukuda at UFC 148.
Thankfully for the UFC, Weidman’s withdrawal will not break their already stacked year-ending card. Then again, we’re still over a month out from UFC 155, so let’s just cross our fingers and hope that Weidman is the last main-carder to pull out.
*I say “more or less” because there are still some of you out there who are convinced that Michael Bisping is the true #1 contender and I have simply given up trying to convince you otherwise. If he manages to beat Vitor Belfort, however, I will start to entertain this ridiculous notion.
It seems that UFC middleweight Chris Weidman will be out of action for the remainder of the year, as an injury in training has pulled him off the upcoming UFC 155 card.MMA Fighting reports that the initial diagnosis with Weidman’s physician is a t…
It seems that UFC middleweight Chris Weidman will be out of action for the remainder of the year, as an injury in training has pulled him off the upcoming UFC 155 card.
MMA Fighting reports that the initial diagnosis with Weidman’s physician is a torn labrum “with a possible shoulder dislocation or separation” due to a miscued double-leg takedown.
This has not been a kind year to Weidman, who also suffered in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy—a Category 1 storm that tore apart the Eastern Seaboard during the last week of October this year. As Weidman lamented to MMA Fighting, the chain of events is disheartening:
“My biggest fear was something happening to me before this fight,” Weidman said. “I wanted this fight so bad, what with the hurricane and our house, and on top of that, it’s the biggest fight of my career.
“Everything happens for a reason. Hopefully, this will be [a] blessing.”
Notably, this is the third injury reported by the UFC in the last week.
Heavyweight Shane Carwin pulled out of his Ultimate Fighter main-event fight with Roy Nelson just a week ago, citing another knee injury. Matt Mitrione has since stepped up to rescue the card on short notice.
Additionally, lightweight competitor Gray Maynard found himself ousted from a UFC 155 match against Joe Lauzon. Jim Miller will take Maynard’s place on that card this December.
Update: According to MMA Mania’s Mike Bohn, Chris Weidman suffered a dislocated shoulder while performing a double-leg takedown during his training camp in Arizona.I hit a double-leg and that’s it, my shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t eve…
Update:According to MMA Mania’s Mike Bohn, Chris Weidman suffered a dislocated shoulder while performing a double-leg takedown during his training camp in Arizona.
I hit a double-leg and that’s it, my shoulder landed weird and I felt a pop. I can’t even move my arm.
Another UFC card, another injury.
Surging middleweight title contender Chris Weidman is reportedly out of UFC 155, according to Newsday Sports.
So far, the nature of the injury has not been disclosed by Weidman’s camp or the UFC, although this thankfully doesn’t leave Tim Boetsch without an opponent for his main event match on December 29th. Instead of Weidman, “The Barbarian” will now face Costa Philippou.
“It’s awful,” trainer Ray Longo said.
Instead, Boetsch will fight Costa Philippou, a teammate of Weidman’s with Longo and Matt Serra. Philippou was supposed to fight this past Saturday against Nick Ring at UFC 154 in Montreal, but the bout was canceled that morning when Ring fell ill.
Philippou is currently 4-1 in the UFC on a four-fight winning streak, after a long undefeated stretch in regional promotion Ring of Combat. Philippou has also gone to decision three times in that span, while Boetsch has done the same.
It’s not clear whether this fight will have title implications for either competitor due to the change in schedule. However, Boetsch is coming off a huge win against former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard, who debuted against Boetsch at UFC 149 in a highly anticipated match.
Boetsch vs. Philippou will should still retain their position on the main card at UFC 155 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Arena.
After being forced out of a planned UFC 155 bout opposite Tim Boetsch later next month due to an injured shoulder, rising middleweight contender Chris Weidman announced via Twitter earlier Thursday evening that he had a successful surgery on the ailment and plans on returning to the Octagon some time in 2013.