Weidman talks ‘extrusion herniation’ neck injury that scrapped UFC 199 bout

When it comes to injuries, Chris Weidman is no stranger. He’s been beset by shoulder problems (UFC 155), knee problems (UFC 173), hand problems (UFC 181), rib problems (UFC 184), and now adding to the list is a neck injury ahead of UFC 199. Weidman recently took to Facebook to detail what exactly went wrong this time around, telling fans that an MRI uncovered a “large extrusion herniation” in his neck that was causing a loss of balance and shutting down nerves connected to his tricep and forearm.

The injury scraps his planned upcoming title rematch with current middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. Rockhold took the title from Weidman in the 4th round of a back and forth thriller back at UFC 194, giving Weidman the first loss of his professional MMA career.

Here’s Weidman’s full update on his injury:

“I just wanna let my fans know as many details as possible about what happened to me because I want them involved as much as possible. It’s the least I can do to give back for all the love and support I have received now and over the years.

“To all the people bad-mouthing me right now, I understand it and you’re entitled to your opinion. Just wanna make sure you know this is a fight I refused to pull out of no matter what. I was never in better shape, more healthy, motivated, confident and excited for a fight in my life. I also felt I was the best fighter I have ever been and made some great improvements.

“Since my high-school wrestling days, my neck, every once in a while, would get stiff. Every athlete who has been competing in any sport experiences this, but it usually goes away pretty quickly in a day or two. It never has been a real problem for me or slowed me down.

“So, I recently sparred on a Thursday night and nothing drastic at all happened during sparring. After sparring, my neck was fine and our team actually discussed afterwards how good I was feeling as a fighter. The next morning, I happened to wake up with a stiff neck and with a little nerve pain in my neck and arm but figured it …

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