Breaking: Chris Weidman Out Of UFC 199 Title Bout
According to a report via FloCombat, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has been forced out of his scheduled UFC 199 title rematch against Luke Rockhold due to an injury.
The report surfaced on Twitter earlier this afternoon from TalkMMA:
If what I’m hearing is true, I hope Jacare is ready. Rumor is Weidman is injured and could be out of #UFC199.
— #Dizz © (@TalkMMA) May 17, 2016
The report was later confirmed by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
Weidman (13-1) suffered his first professional MMA defeat after being finished by Rockhold in their co-main event bout at UFC 194 back in December.
Weidman won the title back in July of 2013 when he defeated the former middleweight king Anderson Silva in dramatic fashion at UFC 162.
Rockhold (13-2) is a former Strikeforce middleweight champion who has amassed an impressive UFC resume that includes finishes of names such as Michael Bisping, Lyoto Machida, and now Chris Weidman.
The two men have gone back-and-forth at one another over the past few months leading up to their expected clash in June during media events and interviews.
It is not yet know who will replace Weidman, however, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza is coming off of an impressive first round finish of former title challenger Vitor Belfort in Brazil at UFC 198 this past Saturday night. The No. 2-Ranked middleweight would be an excellent replacement, as the hungry ‘Jacare’ has claimed he is ready for a title shot.
‘Jacare’ and Rockhold have a history with one another, as the two men met under the Strikeforce banner back in 2011, where Rockhold won the middleweight championship from the Brazilian after a unanimous decision victory.
UFC 199 is set to go down at The Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday June 4th, and is set to feature a bantamweight title bout in the co-main event between rivals Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
UFC on FOX also confirmed the news shortly after it broke:
Chris Weidman OUT of #UFC199, Luke Rockhold awaits replacement opponenthttps://t.co/M2jciwa4oX#UFC pic.twitter.com/SqjVNEqDZ4
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) May 17, 2016
