Chris Weidman Announces His Retirement

January 18, 2025
1 month
Chris Weidman Announces His Retirement

Chris Weidman has decided to retire from MMA. 

Weidman reached the pinnacle of the sport, having been the UFC Middleweight Champion. He became the champion when he secured an upset win over Anderson Silva at UFC 163 in 2013. But he picked up a major injury, suffering from a broken leg against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in 2021. Since then, he only had three more fights.

He suffered two losses out of his next three fights, ending with a loss against Eryk Anders at UFC 310. That took his record to 16-8. But he has secured massive wins over Demian Maia, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, and Kelvin Gastelum. Weidman announced the retirement at the UFC’s weigh-in show for UFC 311. Once the weigh-in was over, Weidman confirmed the news. 

Weidman Retires

“Since I decided to get into this sport, since 2009, the goal was to be a UFC fighter. Then immediately the goal was to be a UFC world champion. Fourteen years later, I’m here and I’m here to tell you guys I’m hanging up the gloves in the UFC. I’m no longer going to be fighting for the organization that changed my life in so many ways. I’m just super appreciative to everybody that got me here,” Weidman said

This naturally begs the question of what is next for Weidman. The fighter showed that perhaps he could have a future in media. Numerous former fighters have gone down this route. Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier are examples of that. There is also the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of other fighters, who went into coaching: Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib is the current coach for Islam Makhachev. He has guided him into becoming one of the best fighters in the world.

What’s Next?

Islam is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. Weidman has plenty of options. Equally, there is the opportunity to crossover into boxing. Numerous fighters have done this to earn bigger paydays. Nate Diaz boxed Jake Paul, and Conor McGregor famously did so when he boxed Floyd Mayweather. While the pair lost their fights, they did secure their biggest paydays. Weidman has plenty of options. He was grateful for his career. And he looked back at some of his most profound moments. 

“It’s been a ride. From being an undefeated world champion and being able to beat one of the greatest of all time in Anderson Silva, and then being able to defend my belt three times against some of the greatest legends of the sport. Even from the amount I’ve learned about myself in dealing with adversity and injuries, I’ve had 30 surgeries. I put my body through a lot and to be able to overcome a lot of that was always tough. I’m just proud that the UFC gave me an outlet to compete against some of the best guys in the world. I’m proud of the résumé and the type of guys I was able to fight. I respect them all so much,” Weidman added

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