Chris Weidman's return to MMA begins with Polaris submission grappling event
Chris Weidman receives instruction from trainer Ray Longo in between rounds during a sparring session on Sept. 26, 2019. Credit: Newsday/Mark La Monica
Two years and multiple surgeries removed from being stretchered out of the UFC’s octagon with a bone protruding through his calf muscle, Chris Weidman again will make the walk toward a martial arts competition.
Not in mixed martial arts, though. At least not yet.
First up, instead, will be a submission grappling match in England against Owen Livesey in the main event for Polaris 23.
“Here’s a way for me to get my weight down and get in shape and have a competition,” the former UFC middleweight champion told Newsday. “Get some of those competitive juices flowing again.”
For the Baldwin-raised Weidman, this represents more than just a professional jiu-jitsu match. It’s a return to active competition after two years of trying to recover from a devastating injury less than a handful of professional MMA fighters ever experienced.
“I miss it, man,” Weidman said. “I really do miss it. I'm excited to get back to it, just feel that nervous energy and stuff again, trying to go out there and perform your best.”
About 14 seconds into his bout against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 on April 24, 2021, Weidman threw a calf kick with his right leg. Within another three or four seconds, as his shattered lower leg unwrapped itself from around Hall’s left leg, Weidman’s world changed. Forget about wondering whether he’d ever fight again. The first question was whether he’d ever walk again.
Now, as Weidman (15-6) has persevered through setbacks, the question has changed from "if" to "when" he'll fight again. That answer appears within reach for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Matt Serra.
Weidman, 38, said he hopes to return to the octagon this summer and that he’s looking at his training for the Polaris grappling match, which streams on UFC Fight Pass, as something of a “pre-camp” to prepare his body and mind for the physical and mental rigors of training for an MMA fight.
“I just stay focused on every day, just trying to improve, I enjoy every day. Next thing I know, you get events popping up,” Weidman said. “I think it’s a great buildup to my next fight. I want to make sure I go out there and I impress. Get people a little bit more excited, and maybe, maybe people remember that I'm a legit threat to anybody.”
One person who can’t forget is Tom Lane. He's with him nearly every day. Lane, a former Garden City High School wrestler, trains with Weidman at Gym O in North Carolina, about a 30-minute drive from where Weidman now lives in South Carolina.
“He has accomplished everything he wants to, but he still has that burning desire to accomplish more,” said Lane, who is 3-0 as a professional MMA fighter after wrestling at Cal Poly and earning All-American honors as a senior in 2020. “He's still trying to get better every single day. He's not satisfied yet.
“You see a guy working his tail off, you want to be just like him, be as good as him. That’s contagious, having a guy like that in a room who’s done it all. It shows you it’s possible.”
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
