UFC: Chris Weidman finds it ‘completely understandable’ Zhang Weili was distracted by his leg break

Former UFC middleweight champ defends China’s Zhang after criticism for saying she lost focus before title fight

‘To have to deal with something like that definitely sucks. It’s not like she’s lying saying that rattled her,’ Weidman says

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Zhang Weili (left) looks dejected after her loss to Rose Namajunas, which came after Chris Weidman (right) broke his leg at UFC 261. Photo: USA Today/AFP

Published: 2:16pm, 24 Aug 2021Updated: 2:16pm, 24 Aug 2021

Zhang Weili drew some scorn from fans after admitting she was distracted by Chris Weidman’s leg break before losing her strawweight title at UFC 261, but the former middleweight champ has come to her defence.

“The All-American” snapped his leg when Uriah Hall checked his first kick during their bout on April 24, which preceded Zhang’s defeat by Rose Namajunas in Jacksonville, Florida.

Weidman was given lengthy treatment in the Octagon before being stretchered out of the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, and China’s Zhang had admitted in mini-documentary My Bronze Age that she lost focus slightly, having fist bumped the 37-year-old on his way out to the cage.

“Completely understandable, and I’m sure she’s being asked questions on why, and she’s just trying to figure out reasons on why she lost,” Weidman told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.

“A hundred per cent that’s something that was in her head and something that she thought about. It wasn’t positive. You want positive vibes – you’re walking out, there’s a lot of negative thoughts you’re trying to deal with. To have to deal with something like that definitely sucks.