Ray Longo opens up on Chris Weidman’s UFC 194 pre-fight injuries

At UFC 194 Chris Weidman lost his UFC middleweight championship at the hands of Luke Rockhold.

Rockhold impressed fans as he seemed to dominate Weidman wherever the fight took place over the course of 4 rounds before ultimately picking up a 4th round TKO win.

Since then the UFC has booked a rematch between the pair at UFC 199 in June, where Chris Weidman will look to reclaim his middleweight championship.

Weidman’s head coach Ray Longo spoke to ESPN to discuss the serious injuries Weidman had going into the fight.

“He had a fractured foot in two places. We tried to work around it, but I think mentally it had an effect on him, because he wasn’t able to push the cardio the right way.”

“He has fought with injuries before,” Longo said. “I’ve seen this guy walk through fire before — but as his coach, I feel bad. Maybe I should have been more vocal about this or that. You can’t make excuses. His teammate, Aljamain Sterling, was banged up going into his fight on Dec. 11 and he won. So, you never know.

“If you decide to fight, what can you do during camp? Put a boot on him, so someone takes a picture and he’s walking around in a boot? He didn’t wear one. It’s a nightmare. And these guys are my friends, so I’m in a weird spot sometimes. You basically have to tell them they’re not doing it.”

Do you think the rematch between the pair will go differently at UFC 199? Sound off below PENN Nation!