Chris Weidmann to make his long-awaited Octagon return at UFC 292

A former UFC champion is reportedly set to make his return after more than two years away from the Octagon.

According to Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, former middleweight titleholder Chris Weidman will face Brad Tavares at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 at the TD Garden in Boston. It will be his first fight since he suffered a horrific compound fracture and a broken leg in a fight against Uriah Hall at UFC 261 in April 2021.

Weidman's devastating injury came just seconds into his fight against Hall when he threw a leg kick. Hall checked it, and Weidman's leg snapped from the impact. He was immediately taken to the hospital for surgery, and a rod was placed in his leg to stabilize the broken bones, according to Martin.

He had to undergo a second surgery to have a plate inserted in his leg, but Martin noted that he "continued to rehabilitate the injury with the intention of returning to fighting."

The 38-year-old recently participated in a grappling match in March, and his return to competition understandably made him emotional.

"These last two years have been the hardest years of my life," Weidman said after his match, per Martin. "I don't want to cry, I'm not going to cry, but I don't know if you know this, but I snapped my leg in half in April 2021, and I wasn't sure I was ever going to be able to compete again in anything, and so to able to come out here put a show for you guys, win or lose, is truly a dream."

Weidman will be facing a fellow veteran in Tavares, who has a career record of 19-8 and has lost his last two outings.

UFC 292 will be headlined by Weidman's longtime friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling, who will be looking to defend his bantamweight championship against Sean O'Malley.