Chris Weidman thanks Dana White and the UFC for chartering a private plane for him and his family after emergency surgery
Chris Weidman has expressed his gratitude towards UFC and Dana White for chartering a private jet to take him and his family home following emergency surgery. Weidman required the medical treatment after he broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg at last week's UFC 261 event.
Chris Weidman took to Instagram to thank Dana White and the UFC for taking care of him and his family during the difficult time. Weidman also mentioned the UFC's medical coordinator and his management team for being by his side through the vulnerable moments. The caption to Chris Weidman's post read:
"I can’t thank @danawhite and @ufc enough for taking care of my family and me during these challenging times. These are the sort of things they do for us that people don’t get to see. Instead of being in pain on a public plane or stuck in a car forever, they chartered us a plane straight from the hospital to our house. Also very thankful to have Ufc medical coordinator @every1lovesraimond who stayed in Jacksonville the entire time to make sure I was good. Grateful to my management @vaynersports Lloyd and @sarahzemonek ... So grateful 🙏🙏❤️@danawhite @ufc #ufc261," Chris Weidman wrote.
What happened to Chris Weidman at UFC 261?
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) fought No. 8 ranked middleweight Uriah Hall (17-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) at UFC 261 pay-per-view event on April 24, 2021. A checked leg kick from Uriah Hall broke both the bones in Weidman's right leg that resulted in Hall winning the fight via TKO due to injury. The fight was a rematch of their first fight all the way back in 2010 which Chris Weidman won via TKO in round one.
The gruesome injury was reminiscent of a similar incident that had Chris Weidman on the other side. Former UFC middleweight champion and MMA great Anderson Silva broke his left leg in a similar fashion due to a checked leg kick from Chris Weidman at UFC 168 in December 2013.
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Although the injury was a serious one, Weidman's surgery was a success. While giving an update about his condition in an Instagram post, Chris Weidman stated that it would be eight weeks before he could walk and around six months to a year before he can resume training.