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One leg kick changed Chris Weidman's life for the better. Another sent him on a two-year road to recovery that was as close to a roller coaster as possible. Weidman attempts to return from catastrophic injury on Saturday night at UFC 292 in Boston.

Weidman snapped his fibula and tibia against Uriah Hall in April 2021. The injury was stomach-churning. Weidman's pained expression was heartbreaking. But his butchered leg was only the first challenge to overcome in a perilous climb to get back to some semblance of normalcy.

"We've had four surgeries, infections, in and out of hospitals, tons of ups and downs. Hope and then hope just crashing down," Weidman told CBS Sports. "There's just been... a lot of focus on each day and winning each day as opposed to being like, 'I need to get into a fight' and being upset that I'm not there yet. I just kind of put that all out. I couldn't control it. And every day I just tried to get my leg a little bit stronger, a little bit more healthy and here we are."

Check out the full interview with Chris Weidman below.

In an ironic twist of fate, Weidman suffered the same injury that Hall of Famer Anderson Silva endured against him. In their rematch after scoring a TKO of Silva, Weidman checked a leg kick from the Brazilian and his leg immediately snapped. Silva managed to return to action in just 13 months.

"I was in a state of shock..." Weidman's longtime coach Ray Longo told CBS Sports. "I'm telling you, when he threw that kick, I go, 'Wow. He means business. Like he unloaded that thing, and then I was away. And then it was on the way back and then he hit the floor, and I was like. 'Holy shit, this can't be happening right now' because he looked great going into that fight. And then Dana [White] comes over to me and goes, 'What are the odds of that?' I don't even know what he's talking about [at the moment]."

The Serra-Longo camp is a tight-knit unit that led Weidman to a UFC title. A strong family bond permeates through the relatively small collective that morphs scrappy underdogs into world champs. A poignant example of the friendship between Weidman and Longo is their amusing takes on an incident that occurred shortly after Weidman's traumatizing injury.

"You would think the head coach would want to go to the hospital with his guy to make sure he's OK. Longo wanted nothing to do with it," Weidman said. "The other guys who were cornering me, asked Longo, 'Are you going into the ambulance?' He said, 'Absolutely not. No f---ing way.' And the next thing I know, he disappeared into the bars and was hanging out, having a good old jolly time while I was screaming in pain. Screaming, 'Longo! Help me!' He was nowhere to be found. So I'll never forgive him for that."

"His version is that I left him in the ring and went to the bar afterward," Longo said. "We were still in COVID. I couldn't go to the hospital. His family had to be there. The guy holds that against me to this day. I walked out to the ambulance... I think I sent [Stephen] 'Wonderboy' [Thompson] with him. Wonderboy's brother married Weidman's sister. There is more of a family connection there. I actually did end up in the bar, but not that I wanted to be there. There was just nothing else to do."

Check out the full interview with Ray Longo below.

That positive outlook has been as crucial to the recovery process as the medical procedures and physical rehabilitation. Temporarily stripped of a fully functioning leg, Weidman was forced to slow down and soak in the presence of those around him.

"It helped me realize what's most important in life and that's my family. My family and close friends," Weidman said. "My family was there and they supported me the whole time. They're always around and kind of gave me a glimpse into what life would be like after fighting. Who's going to be around? Because going from being a world champion, losing some fights, then breaking your leg in half, you get to see who the real ones are. It definitely was been helpful to see that. There are a lot of blessings in disguise."

It's no small feat that Weidman is back on two legs and ready to compete. Leg injuries have permanently ended or seriously impeded the career of many fighters. Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz lost years of his career due to knee injuries. Tatiana Suarez was always touted as a future champion but a career-threatening knee injury was one of several that delayed her ascent to stardom. Weidman certainly contended with fears about his condition. But Weidman only knows one way to overcome what scares him: head on.

"From Day 1, as soon as I was limping inside the gym, I knew the one thing I was going to be afraid to do was kick. So I just made sure I kicked," Weidman said. "I started with the heavy bag. I started kicking that thing a little harder, a little harder. Next, I started sparring with people that I trust. People I know aren't going to check me and I'm throwing leg kicks at them. Nice and light just feeling it out. It's been a long two years of recovering and getting to the point where I'll kick through someone's leg right now. I don't give a crap."

"I'm a little nervous about the leg," Longo said. "It would kill me if he hurt that leg again, but supposedly it's like a bionic leg now. He did throw it in the gym, but he didn't go shin to shin. He was on the heavy bag but he was whipping it. He was a vicious leg-kicker back in the day. He never really got to show it too much in the UFC, but he dropped a lot of guys in the gym with leg kicks back in the day."

Weidman is no longer the 29-year-old phenom turning heads and punching a hole through the face and mystique of MMA's mythical "Spider." A decade later, Weidman refuses to be regulated as an elder statesman.

"To be able to come back and feel as good as I feel right now, I feel like I'm in my prime and I'm ready to prove that," Weidman said. "People think I'm just coming back for like a paycheck or to just see how it feels. I'm coming back to take over this whole damn thing."