Weidman may be sidelined for a year after leg break

FILLE–: Chris Weidman of the United States leaves the fight on a stretcher after breaking his leg on a kick attempt to Uriah Hall of Jamaica during UFC 261 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 24, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. Alex Menendez/Getty Images/AFP 

American Chris Weidman said he expects to return to training in six to 12 months after breaking his right leg in Saturday’s middleweight bout with Uriah Hall at UFC 261.

Former champion Weidman’s right leg snapped following the first kick of the fight to Hall’s leg in the opening seconds and the 36-year-old was carried out of the arena on a stretcher before being taken to a hospital in Jacksonville.

Weidman said he had broken both the tibia and fibula of his leg. He had surgery on Sunday where a titanium rod was inserted into his tibia.

“It’s pretty brutal, but I’m gonna get through it… Trying to find the blessing in disguise, the silver lining of this.”@chrisweidman provided an update from the hospital on his leg injury suffered at #UFC261 and a possible recovery timeline. pic.twitter.com/WpPuGKpOSN

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 26, 2021

“It’s pretty brutal, but I’m going to get through this,” Weidman said in a video posted on Instagram. “I think it’s going to be eight weeks until I can walk without crutches, drive and all that.

“As far as training, they said between six and 12 months I’ll be good to go. I’m trying to find the blessing in disguise and the silver lining.

“As soon as it happened and I hit the floor, saw my leg and the pain started hitting me I tried to keep my mind on something positive that will come out of this … I can’t believe it happened.”