UFC fighter Chris Weidman is currently recovering from a nasty leg break, video of which would have anyone cringing. Now, the MMA fighter just released an emotional video chronicling his first month of recovery and discussing his future in the sport.
Weidman sustained an open fracture of the tibia and fibula in the right leg during his April 24 fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. An “open fracture” means that the bone pierced through the skin of the leg after breaking.
In a YouTube video posted on May 19, Weidman shows fans what his recovery has looked like so far, including an extensive surgery and four-day hospital stay. The video even shows Weidman recounting the injury just mere hours after the fight.
“I actually went to kick his calf—you know like the calf kicks—which I never do,” Weidman says in the video when talking to a loved one via video chat from his hospital bed. “You just do it in sparring. And then, to be honest, I don’t remember what happened.”
He added, “I’ve never— I’ve never had pain like that before.” The video shows him leaving the hospital and boarding a flight home to recover at home in South Carolina. At one point in the video, Weidman checks out this surgical wounds for the first time, unwrapping his leg to reveal incisions, stitches, and scabs.
Weidman says prior to breaking his leg on April 24, he was looking to retire after dominating a few big-name opponents and defending the title. “The was the goal, and April 24 was the first step into accomplishing that,” he says, getting emotional while talking about the injury.
“Breaking my leg at the fight felt super surreal, and starting to think about what’s next, I get very emotional because I won’t be able to attend my kid’s activities, walk and drive for a couple of weeks and so much more,” the 36-year-old fighter writes in the caption of the video.
He adds, “I don’t know what will happen because nothing has stopped me before, but this is different.” While his career is up in the air while his leg heals, Weidman seems determined to get back to fighting and finish his career the way he envisioned.
“I just don’t want this to be the end,” Weidman says in the video. “I feel like I have more in me. I just need this [injury] to be a short-lived thing that I’m able to look back on as just part of my story.”
Source: Read Full Article