Chris Weidman had to admit it. He didn't like being left off the main card of the UFC 309 pay-per-view.
“I was on pay-per-view until about a week ago, and then they fired me. Honestly, I was pissed at first,” Weidman said at Madison Square Garden. He spoke to the Post at Wednesday's media day ahead of Saturday's event. “Of course there's nothing you can do about it. They're doing what they want.”
Weidman, a Long Island native who reigned as UFC middleweight champion from 2013 to 2015 and headlined three pay-per-view events during that time, didn't use a harsh tone, saying that what he suggested was , seemed to understand that might have been the logic behind the transition to Off. The highlight of the event.
“If I go out there and get a great win, what does it actually do for them?'' Weidman has made a frightening recovery from a broken foot injury that he sustained in 2021. However, he claimed that he turned 40 in June. “The only time I have is until I can take, say, a young star potential player and monetize it.”
In any case, Weidman's mindset has changed even since the summer of 2023. He returned to the game after being away for more than two years rehabbing an injury sustained when taking a leg kick at Uriah Hall. The method was much the same as Weidman's. We examine Anderson Silva's kick that broke the legendary Brazilian's leg 11 years ago.
At the time, Weidman (16-7, 10th place finish) told the Post that he still had hopes of making it to the championship, nearly a decade after losing the title.
That's no longer the biggest driving force in his athletic career.
“I'd like to get back to championship contention, but right now I'm more than just taking one fight at a time,” said Weidman, a Baldwin native who moved to South Carolina since the COVID-19 pandemic. “I just want to know if I can perform under the lights, if I can do what I like in the gym, how my body can hold up, and where a great win will take me. If I can't perform the way I want, I think it's probably over.”
“Probably not” Saturday, but “not likely” heading into a matchup with veteran Eric Anders (16-8, 10 finishes), a former starting linebacker at Alabama, the 2009 BCS national champion. I haven't thought about it,” he said.
A win would be even sweeter for Weidman considering the venue.
The native New Yorker became a big part of the UFC's lobbying effort to bring professional MMA back to the Empire State in 2016, but is 0-2 in fights at the Garden.
“Both wins meant a lot to me,” Weidman recalls with a wry smile. “Going into the third round I was winning both fights, but then I got hit with a monster shot and that was it. My night was over. It was terrible. But you just see [Saturday] You can take it as an opportunity and run away from it in fear, or you can take it and use it as a motivation to earn your own salvation. That's my position. ”
