Chris Weidman opens up on short-lived retirement after signing with Global Fight League: “I love to compete”

By Josh Evanoff - January 27, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has signed with the Global Fight League.

Chris Weidman

‘The All-American’ is fresh off his return to the octagon at UFC 310 last month in Las Vegas. Back for the first time since a controversial win over Bruno Silva in March, Chris Weidman faced Eryk Anders. Despite a first-round knockdown from the former champion, he was finished in the closing seconds of the second frame.

A few weeks following that defeat, Chris Weidman announced his retirement. Appearing on the UFC 311 preview show alongside Daniel Cormier and others, the middleweight great put down the gloves for good. However, Weidman’s retirement ended up lasting just a few short weeks. Earlier this month, he signed with the Global Fight League.

The upstart league founded by Darren Owen hopes to start holding events in April, and they’ve already signed a lot of ex-UFC talent. Names such as Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Paige VanZant, and more, have all signed with the Global Fight League. On their inaugural broadcast last week, Weidman was drafted to Team New York.

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Chris Weidman Aljamain Sterling

(via Chris Weidman’s Facebook page)

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman discusses Global Fight League signing

Speaking on the Global Fight League broadcast, Chris Weidman discussed his signing. In the interview, the former UFC champion addressed the elephant in the room: his short-lived retirement. There, Weidman stated that he was motivated by seeing some of the other names signed to the company including rivals Luke Rockhold and Uriah Hall.

“The elephant in the room is, I just retired from the UFC. A lot of people thought I was done fighting. I didn’t know.” Chris Weidman stated on the Global Fight League draft stream. “I thought maybe I am done fighting, I was kind of open to other opportunities out of the UFC, but they had to be good. This is a league where there’s a lot of guys that I have a history with.” (h/t Sherdog)

He continued, “You’ve got Luke Rockhold, you’ve got Gegard Mousasi, you’ve got Uriah Hall. Rockhold was my first loss ever. That was a tough pill for me to swallow… It’s older dudes that I have a lot of history with. I love to compete and we make a whole lot of money. It’s not something I really feel like I can say no to. It’s really an exciting time for me.”

What do you make of these comments from the former UFC champion? Are you excited to see Chris Weidman fight in the Global Fight League?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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