Dana White begs Chris Weidman, ‘please, please retire’ after UFC 292 loss; Weidman vows ‘I’m not done’
If UFC President Dana White has his druthers, Chris Weidman has already fought for the final time in his career.
At UFC 292, Weidman made his long-awaited comeback after more than two years after of inaction following a gruesome broken leg suffered in his fight against Uriah Hall back in 2021. In his return, Weidman survived all three rounds, but he ultimately dropped a unanimous decision to Brad Tavares after the Hawaiian absolutely brutalized both of his legs with a barrage of blistering kicks.
Following the event, White pleaded with Weidman to hang up his gloves for good while also revealing that the former middleweight champion may have suffered another serious injury that could sideline him even longer.
“I love Chris Weidman,” White said at the UFC 292 post-fight press conference. “I love him, I love his family and I think he should retire. We talked to [Doctor Jeff Davidson], Doc D thinks he blew his MCL/ACL — he blew one of his [cruciate ligaments]. The guy’s just coming back from a gruesome injury. Listen, father time is not our friend at all but definitely not for a professional athlete.
“First of all depending on the damage to the knee, you’re talking another year. I would say Chris, I love you, please, please retire.”
Prior to White making his comments, Weidman addressed the loss during the UFC 292 post-fight show and admitted his surgically repaired leg did give him pause in the early exchanges.
Tavares then opted to use Weidman’s legs as his primary target on offense, which only made things that much harder on him. It also explained why the 39-year-old New York native was sitting in a wheelchair while making his way through the backstage area following the fight.
“There was hesitancy,” Weidman said. “There was probably a little bit of ring rust. No excuses. I told Brad after the fight, he’s an awesome dude, and we kind of stood there the first round. I guess he was kind of worried about my takedowns and I was just kind of getting a feel to be in there again.
“I can’t believe he leg kicked me! When he started leg kicking me, I was like, ‘You b******! You’re such a nice dude! Why are you freaking leg kicking me?’ Then when he kicked my surgery leg, that’s kind of what pissed me off. This is the fight game, I’m being kind of funny with it but that wasn’t a tactic I thought was going to be happening to be honest. I probably should have assumed it.
“I was like, all right motherf***** you’re going to kick my leg, that’s messed up. I think it ended up being a fun fight. I thought I won the second round to be honest. But I’m just happy to be here.”
Weidman didn’t address the extent of the damage done to his legs from the fight, although that will require a visit to his doctor as well as some X-rays and probably an MRI. He did say that both of his legs definitely took a lot of punishment courtesy of Tavares’ kicks during the three round fight.
“Both legs hurt pretty bad,” he said. “I’m in wheelchair that they’re pushing me in and also dragging me in. Who would have thought? The surgery leg, that one’s pretty puffy. I don’t think there’s any serious damage. I have a rod in the middle of that thing but there’s definitely going to be some pain for the next week or so.”
When he finally addressed his future, Weidman didn’t sound like somebody contemplating the end of his career, which obviously stands in direct opposition to what White wants for him. Only time will tell who will ultimately get their wish.
“I’m not done,” Weidman said defiantly. “I’ll be back better than ever, but this was a good opportunity for me to get back in the octagon.”