"I never thought you were so naive" - Ex-UFC two division champion talks about how Chris Weidman is "living in a fairytale world"
A former UFC two-division champion recently cautioned Chris Weidman about his perception of reality.
Weidman is preparing to square off against Bruno Silva on the main card of UFC Atlantic City, scheduled to take place at Boardwalk Hall in New Jersey on March 30.
'The All-American' is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Brad Tavares at UFC 292 last August. Before that matchup, Weidman was sidelined for more than two years following a compound fracture that shattered his tibia and fibula during the UFC 261 fight against Uriah Hall, marking it as one of the most gruesome in-competition injuries in UFC history.
During a recent conversation with UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, Weidman stated that before the Tavares fight, he was uncertain whether his leg injuries would be exploited by opponents. 'DC' was seemingly astonished by the former UFC middleweight champion's statement and said:
"Why would you not be sure Chris?! If you saw somebody who had an injury like you did and you were fighting them, then you would go after the legs. I mean you’re living in a fairytale world because you’re in there with your children in a big, beautiful mansion that you own and you’re thinking everything’s freaking strawberries and ice cream when in reality you’re in a killer’s sport."
He added:
"I don’t even care about that. I care about the mentality, I never thought you were so naive. You and I have been really good on TV together, but I never would have imagined that you were naive."
Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (5:10):
'The All-American' was once riding high on a 13-fight win streak until he was defeated by Luke Rockhold in their title fight at UFC 194 in December 2015.
Weidman is currently facing challenges in his career and has suffered defeat in seven of his last nine fights, with six of those losses coming by way of knockout or technical knockout.
Chris Weidman initially intended to retire at UFC Atlantic City
During his recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Chris Weidman mentioned that he had been considering retirement at UFC Atlantic City, the location where he embarked on his professional MMA journey in February 2009.
However, 'The All-American' clarified that once he started his training camp for his upcoming fight, he dismissed the idea:
"I thought that would be a really cool place to hang up the gloves. That's where I started my career and maybe a good place to end my career. But as I started training, I said, let me see how my body feels. If I feel like I'm done, then I'll be done, you know 30 surgeries and stuff. But I've been feeling amazing."
Check out Chris Weidman's comments below (4:16):