UFC President Dana White doesn’t usually voice his opinion on when he thinks it’s time for a UFC fighter to hang up their gloves and call it quits but he broke that habit after Chris Weidman’s loss at UFC 292. Weidman (15-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC), who lost via unanimous decision to Brad Tavares (20-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) in their middleweight fight at the TD Garden in Boston on Saturday, returned to the octagon for the first time since enduring a gruesome leg break against Uriah Hall in 2021.
Although returning to the ring after such an unfortunate setback is admirable in terms of both mental and physical tenacity, Dana White doesn’t think the 39-year-old Weidman, who was injured again in his match against Tavares, and has lost his last seven of nine fights, should try to overcome adversity once more.
“I love Chris Weidman – I love him,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC 292. “I love his family. I think he should retire. We talked to Dr. (Davidson). He thinks he blew his ACL, MCL – he blew one of the CLs. The guy is just coming back from a gruesome injury and, listen man: Father Time is not our friend at all, but definitely if you’re a professional athlete.
“Depending on the damage to the knee, you’re talking another year. So I would say: ‘Chris, I love you. Please, please retire.’”
White added, “Weidman reached the pinnacle of the sport and did it in spectacular fashion, knocking out the greatest of all time (in Anderson Silva). What now? Why? To come back and feel it one more time? He felt it tonight, and he blew his knee out and he’s going to have to go through crazy surgery again and recover from it. It’s just like, why? You’ve done it all. You’ve accomplished everything that you could hope to accomplish in the UFC.”
Do you have the same opinion as Dana White following Chris Weidman’s loss at UFC 292? Let us know in the comments.
