Chris Weidman’s return to MMA wasn’t a successful one, and UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping saw that as a sign that the former champion should hang up the gloves.
Bisping, also a former UFC middleweight champion and now a UFC commentator, strongly believes it’s time Weidman retires from the sport. He thinks Weidman looked far from his old self in his unanimous decision loss to Brad Tavares at UFC 292 this past Saturday in Boston, and he doesn’t want to continue seeing Weidman perform at a subpar level.
“Fighter stick around past their best, past their expiration date, and then they go on a succession of losing fights, one after the other, and it’s heartbreaking to see,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Certainly as a fan, seeing your favorite fighter that was once a champion struggling to get a win, losing and getting knocked out, choked out and submitted, whatever, it’s very, very painful to watch.
“It seems like the whole world knows this guy should retire, but they don’t. And I am, of course, talking about Chris Weidman. And I apologize, Chris, if you see this. I’m a massive fan of Chris. As we know, the guy was an incredible champion. He was undefeated, he dethroned Anderson Silva, he defended the belt against Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort, and after that lost to Luke Rockhold, and then came the knockouts. Of course against ‘Jacare’ Souza, against Gegard Mousasi, against Dominick Reyes, and then he snaps his leg against Uriah Hall.”
Weidman broke his tibia in April 2021. It was one of the worst injuries ever seen in the octagon. It took over two years for Weidman to return to the UFC after a series of complications in his recovery.
With the loss to Tavares, Weidman is now 2-7 in his past nine fights. Yet, the 39-year-old is confident he’ll return “better than ever.” Bisping doesn’t see Weidman getting close to UFC middleweight gold again.
“When you see someone like Weidman, who’s such a great guy, such a great champion, and now he’s struggling and losing fights, and now his body is messed up again, and there’s a potential for another surgery, what’s happening?” Bisping said. “Look, if he comes back, and he chooses to fight, and he goes on a tremendous win streak, I’ll be so happy for him. But the reality is that Saturday night he looked like he was getting a bit older. …
“I don’t enjoy saying this. I don’t enjoy saying this, but I do think Weidman should probably retire. He’s not going to become a champion again.”
Bisping knows suggesting that a fighter should retire is a weird and uncomfortable thing to speak on. However, he stands firmly by his comments.
“If I caused any offense to any names that I just mentioned, I sincerely apologize because it’s not coming from a malicious angle at all,” Bisping said. “And if Chris Weidman continues to fight, I wish him the best and I look forward to seeing what he can do, but I do think it’s time. It’s time that he starts to think about having that serious conversation with him family.”
