UFC 329: “It is like PTSD”

Former UFC middleweight champion is uncertain of how Conor McGregor’s return would be after the Irishman’s injury in his last fight.

McGregor fought Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 and suffered a broken lower tibia, which ended the fight. The Irishman hasn’t competed since but faces Max Holloway at UFC 329.

Weidman was asked about McGregor’s return and brought up his injury history, too. The American broke his leg after Uriah Hall checked his kick at UFC 261. While the former champion returned to fight after a couple of years, he claimed things were not the same.

Weidman was speaking on The Deep Waters podcast and said:

“It’s a serious thing. I came back to training, I had the right mindset, I really thought I was going to be fine coming back.”

He brought up how his rival was attacking his leg right from the get-go:

“I came back, and my first fight back was against [Brad] Tavares, and this dude starts leg kicking me right away.”

Weidman added that he trained with shin pads, and he planned to kick harder in return, but that just wasn’t going to happen:

“He kicked me, and I just couldn’t feel my da** kick. At one point, maybe in the second round, I threw it, but I was so scared.”

Weidman added how the injury affected him even after his return:

“It affected me way more than I thought it was going to affect me until I was under the lights. It is like PTSD, man, it was super traumatic, that whole event.”

The American also shared his concerns for McGregor and didn’t think his return would be easy:

“It’s going to be a lot for him. The leg, the time off, he’s got an uphill battle. I still deal with issues in my leg. Now that I am retired, I can say it, but it’s like a big issue.”

Check out Chris Weidman speaking about Conor McGregor’s return below:

Conor McGregor makes huge statement ahead of return

While Conor McGregor is set to make his MMA return after almost five years, the Irishman allayed fears of ring rust in a social media update.

The former UFC two-division champion posted a lengthy message and thanked all his fans and coaching staff for the support they have shown him:

“I am very grateful for the team I have around me. My coaches and training partners, we are all fully tuned in for the challenge at hand and it is a glorious time in our gym!”

He also claimed that he was going to be better than before:

“I am better than ever, and I relish the opportunity to once again show my mastery in martial arts to the world.”

The Irishman won’t have it easy on his return, though. Holloway has been more active than McGregor and recently lost the UFC BMF title.