
“The All-American” is calling it a career, as Chris Weidman announced his retirement on Friday. Sort of.
The former UFC middleweight champion, coming off a loss to Eryk Anders at UFC 310 last month, announced on the UFC 311 weigh-in show that he was done fighting, at least for the UFC.
“Since I decided to get into this sport, since 2009, the goal was to be a UFC fighter. Then immediately, the goal was to be a UFC champion,” Weidman stated during Friday morning’s show. “Fourteen years later, I’m here to tell you that I’m hanging up the gloves in the UFC. I no longer will be fighting in the organization that changed my life in so many ways.”
Note the verbiage. Weidman, who shocked the world by knockout out Anderson Silva in 2013 to claim the UFC’s 185lb title, is specifically done with the UFC. He did, however, leave the door open to competing elsewhere.
“You’ve got to move on, so I’m opening up a new chapter in my life, and I’m excited about the future,” he later stated. “I’m leaving the door open for big opportunities out there. But we’re moving on to see my life develop in different ways.”
One of those doors may just be the GFL. Coach Ray Longo, a close confidant of Weidman, was recently announced as coaching the New York team of the GFL. Coincidentally, no manager was announced for that team, which feels like a spot Weidman could slip into, keeping him involved in the sport without actually fighting.
Chris Weidman finishes his UFC career with wins over Silva, Vitor Belfort, Kelvin Gastelum, Demian Maia and others.