Former UFC Champion Announces His Retirement On Live Stream

On Friday afternoon, during the live stream for the UFC 311 weigh-ins, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman announced his retirement from MMA.

Here is a look at Weidman’s emotional retirement announcement.

The 40-year-old walks away from the sport with a 16-8 record. UFC President Dana White had suggested Weidman consider retirement in 2019 after a KO loss to Dominick Reyes at light heavyweight.

White pleaded with Weidman to retire in 2023 as well, and again in December 2024, when he grouped him in with Clay Guida and Anthony Smith. Guida was released on January 15, but he has yet to announce his retirement.

Weidman stormed into mixed martial arts after a successful collegiate wrestling career at Hofstra. After four impressive wins with the Ring of Combat promotion, Weidman joined the UFC in 2011.

Coached by the legendary Ray Longo, Weidman was one of the top prospects in the UFC and seemingly destined to win a world championship.

After winning his first five fights with the UFC, Weidman got a title shot against the legendary Anderson Silva in June 2013. Weidman scored a shocking KO victory over Silva while the Brazilian legend attempted his signature mid-fight clowning.

Weidman’s win ended Silva’s historic championship reign. The two men would rematch in December 2013, and Weidman retained his title when Silva suffered a gruesome leg break as the former checked his leg kick.

Weidman went on to successfully defend his title against two more Brazilian legends, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort, in 2014 and 2015, likely cementing his status as a future UFC Hall-of-Famer.

In December 2015, following an ill-advised spin kick, Weidman lost his title to Luke Rockhold via TKO. Weidman looked to be in control of the fight, but for some reason, he attempted a spinning back kick in the fourth round that led to Rockhold being on top and pounding away for the TKO victory.

That fight sent Weidman’s career spiraling downward. He’d be viciously knocked out by Yoel Romero in November 2016 and stopped again by Gegard Mousasi in April 2017, completing a three-fight losing streak.

After Weidman’s final title defense over Belfort, his record in the UFC was just 3-8. Injuries played a major role in Weidman’s decline. He suffered multiple knee injuries that limited his activity in the late 2010s. Ironically, he suffered a very similar leg break in a fight with Uriah Hall—a fighter often compared to Silva—in April 2021.

The broken leg kept Weidman out of the UFC for more than two years.

Weidman’s most recent fight happened in December 2024 at UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was a loss to veteran Eryk Anders.

The fight was originally scheduled to take place at Madison Square Garden in Weidman’s home state of New York. It was seemingly the perfect location for Weidman’s last fight—win or lose.

However, Anders suffered an illness during the weight cut that pushed him out, and the fight was delayed until the next month.

Even with injuries robbing Weidman of what might have been a second surge in his career, he should be a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame. Weidman, Silva, and Israel Adesanya are the only UFC middleweight champions to have successfully defended the title three or more times.

Combine that distinction with the legends he’s beaten, and it seems like a clear-cut decision. It wouldn’t be surprising if we heard the announcement in the coming months.