Ex-UFC champ Chris Weidman retires

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is retiring.

The 40-year-old announced his retirement on Friday during the weigh-in for UFC 311, to be held Saturday night in Inglewood, Calif.

"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 world champion," Weidman said. "Fourteen years later, I'm here to tell you guys, I'm hanging up the gloves in the UFC. I no longer am going to be fighting for the organization that changed my life in so many ways."

Weidman retires with a 16-8-0 record.

An upstate New York native, Weidman defeated superstar Anderson Silva on July 6, 2013, to win the middleweight belt. In that bout, he ended Silva's 16-fight unbeaten UFC streak. He successfully defended the title three times -- including against Silva in a rematch -- before losing it to Luke Rockhold on Dec 12, 2015.

"I'm just very grateful. It's a weird one," Weidman said. "I've been calling myself a UFC fighter since 2011, and today, maybe for the first time, I can't say that. It's weird. It's kind of part of your identity. You've got to move on, and so I'm opening up a new chapter in my life and I'm excited about the future. I'm leaving the door open for big opportunities out there. But we're moving on to see my life develop in different ways."

Weidman suffered a serious leg injury against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Fla., on April 24, 2021, and the compound fracture in his right leg was considered career threatening. He returned to the Octagon on Aug. 19, 2023, and lost the first of his final three career matches, winning the second one.

His final fight was a second-round knockout loss to Eryk Anders at UFC 310 on last Dec. 7 in Paradise, Nev.

--Field Level Media