UFC middleweight Chris Weidman has kept a relatively low profile since suffering a devastating leg injury during his fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 on Saturday night. Early this morning, the former middleweight champion finally broke his silence with an Instagram video filmed from the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
In the video, filmed at approximately 3:30 this morning, Weidman begins by thanking his fans for their support and acknowledges—understandably—that he’s been on heavy pain medication and has been slow to respond to messages.
“I just want everybody to know that I’m thankful for all the love and support, I do want to get back to you all,” he says. “I know Uriah Hall was super classy and upset this happened to me, and I appreciate that.” In addition to his fans, Weidman also received words of encouragement from celebrities in the comments. “The first thing my son Vincent said to me this morning was: Is Chris ok?” actor Vin Diesel wrote. “Prayers. Love. Light.”
Weidman added that he also heard from UFC legend Anderson Silva who, in a twist of irony, suffered a similarly gruesome injury while fighting Weidman at UFC 168 in 2013.
A post shared by Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman)
As for his surgery, Weidman shared that he’d successfully had a metal rod inserted through his tibia, and that his fibula was broken as well. In terms of his timeline for recovery, he explained that it would take at least 8 weeks before he expects to walk again without the aid of crutches and between 6 and 12 months before he can safely train.
Weidman ended the brief clip on an optimistic note, saying he’s still searching for the “blessing in disguise” and the “silver lining” to the incident, and that he expects to document his long journey ahead, so there will be more updates to come.
“The outpouring of love I got is insane,” he said, “and I want to keep you guys in the loop.”
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