‘I Can’t Do This Much Longer’

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“The All-American” isn’t done yet.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion Chris Weidman returns for his 20th UFC fighter at UFC 309 this weekend (Sat., Nov. 16, 2024) against Eryk Anders from inside the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Weidman turned 40 this year, and while he admits he did not think he’d be fighting at his age when he became the first man to defeat Anderson Silva inside the Octagon, his competitiveness keeps him going.

Even though he knows the end is near.

“I’m very competitive, and I still feel like I have more to offer this sport,” Weidman told ESPN when asked why he still fights. “I feel like I can compete with the best of them, and I just want to prove to myself and test myself against the best guys in the world because at some point, very soon, I’ll be done, you know, and I don’t want to have any regrets thinking I hung it up earlier than I should have. So I’m just running until I feel like it’s time, and it just hasn’t happened yet.

“I don’t know, maybe the leg break actually, in retrospect, prolonged my career because of all that time off, so I don’t know if I’d be fighting into my 40s like I am now. I’m 40. I don’t know. Maybe I would have been done already. But because of the time off and all that like, I feel like I have more to give. It is just what it is. Man, I’m 40 years old. I can’t do this much longer. I’m taking it fight by fight, to be honest, because I just have to see how the body feels. You never know,” Weidman concluded.

Weidman’s latter career has been rough, to say the least. From losing seven out of his last ten fights to breaking his leg against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 and the absolutely brutal recovery that came with it to becoming a UFC villain after his last fight because of eye pokes.

While his resume might lack recent wins, he isn’t missing heart, and that will be displayed this weekend as he looks to win for the first time inside Madison Square Garden—something he has yet to achieve.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 309 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 309: “Jones vs. Miocic” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.