Weidman out of UFC 155 bout with Tim Boetsch; Costa Philippou steps in

Chris Weidman has been dominating the Middleweight division in the UFC unlike anyone not named Anderson Silva. He was on track to face Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 and prove he deserved a shot at The Spider. However, unfortunate news comes today as Weidman has been forced to pull out of the bout with a shoulder injury that may indeed require surgery. He spoke to MMAFighting.com today about the bad news:

“My shoulder popped. I never felt anything like it before. Now I can hardly move my arm.” “My biggest fear was something happening to me before this fight. I wanted this fight so bad, what with the hurricane and our house, and on top of that, it’s the biggest fight of my career. Everything happens for a reason. Hopefully, this will be blessing.”

This is devastating for the surging young fighter who recently lost his home in the wake of destruction from Superstorm Sandy. Weidman should be on the shelf for around 3-6 months after the surgery (if he has it), which makes his future in the ever-changing UFC cloudy. His teammate Costa Philippou, who was scheduled to face Nick Ring at UFC 154, will step in and face Tim Boetsch. Weidman may be disappointed, and rightfully so, but he appears to still have his calm wits about him. Weidman is a true warrior, and will continue his ascent towards the top of the Middleweight rankings the minute he is healed up.