Anderson Silva of Brazil prepares to fight Jared Cannonier of USA in their middleweight bout during the UFC 237 event at Jeunesse Arena on May 11, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)
Anderson Silva wished the best for his former opponent Chris Weidman after he suffered a nasty leg injury at UFC 261.
Just 17 seconds into round 1 of his fight against Uriah Hall, Weidman had his leg snapped as he writhed in pain, even as the referee called off the fight. Hall thereby became the first fighter in UFC history to win a fight without a single strike thrown.
Number 11 ranked middleweight, Weidman, once dominated the UFC’s middleweight division. He famously beat the great Anderson Silva to clinch the middleweight title at UFC 162.
The strange coincidence here is that, in the rematch against Anderson Silva at UFC 168, Silva had his leg snapped the same way as Weidman’s was snapped today.
With a plethora of ‘speedy-recovery wishes’ pouring in for Weidman, Silva too was quick to post a heartfelt message, wishing the former middleweight champ a quick recovery.
Here is what ‘Spider’ wrote on his Instagram:
“My deepest and most sincere sentiments champ. Have faith, I wish you a speedy recovery. In this moment I wish you and your family light, love and knowledge. To the fans of the sport, please respect this moment of this incredible warrior and let’s wish that he is 100% very recovered soon. May God bless you and your family @chrisweidman.”
Just prior to his horror night at UFC 261, Weidman spoke about fighting for the middleweight belt someday, once again. The All American compared current champion Israel Adesanya to Anderson Silva, claiming that their fighting styles were pretty similar.
Weidman added that he was built to fight guys like Adesanya and that he would bring a Jan Blachowicz style approach to his game, if he ever takes on the Last Stylebender.
Weidman is a well accomplished wrestler; coupled along with his jiu-jitsu he believes that he would have a fun time with the “not-so-strong” Adesanya.
But now, it looks like Weidman will have to wait much longer due to this nasty injury. Hope the All American recovers soon!
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