Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman remains on the mend following a September thumb surgery.

Weidman (14-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), who’s No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, said he’s been itching to get back in the octagon. Unfortunately, rehabilitation for his complicated thumb procedure has been a slow and frustrating process, which has forced him to remain patience.

Ideally, Weidman would like to resume his fighting career by the summer. The UFC has already begun to fill out its schedule into June, and in a perfect world, Weidman wants to be cleared within the next few weeks so he can find a landing spot at an upcoming event.

“I’m hoping in the next six weeks my health will turn around and I can get a couple training sessions in, get confidence in it that I can use it and then get something booked,” Weidman told MMAjunkie Radio. “I would hope something in the early summer, but the injury I had is pretty serious. The surgery, it’s almost like doing the ACL on the hand. They restructured the ligament. They took ligaments from my wrist to create new ligaments in the base of my thumb. Hands, they take a little time to heal. It’s not the quickest body part to get a surgery on. It takes time.”

Weidman hasn’t fought since UFC on FOX 25 in July, where he earned a third-round submission win over Kelvin Gastelum. The matchup most, including Weidman, viewed as most logical for him next was against former Strikeforce titleholder Ronaldo Souza (25-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC). “Jacare” is coming off a knockout win over Derek Brunson at UFC on FOX 27 in January, and fans have been clamoring for a showdown between the grappling standouts for years.

If Weidman were healthy, he said he wouldn’t hesitate. With with the ex-champ on the sidelines, the Brazilian was ultimately paired against Gastelum at UFC 224, which takes place May 12 in Rio de Janeiro.

Weidman said he still wants the “Jacare” fight but conceded that if it’s unavailable, he’d be willing to agree to anyone who will upgrade his spot in the title picture.

“I thought ‘Jacare’ was the one I was going to be fighting, but the hand is taking longer than I wanted it to be,” Weidman said. “‘Jacare’ would be great fight for No. 1 contendership. Now that I wasn’t able to take that fight in the time I wanted, I couldn’t commit to it. I don’t know what’s next.

“I really don’t know who I would be fighting. Obviously I want to get back to that title fight, and whoever I’ve got to fight to get there, I’m willing to do it.”

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