Chris Weidman will not defend his title against Vitor Belfort on Feb. 28 at UFC 184.
According to MMAJunkie.com, the UFC middleweight champion, Weidman, has suffered an injury in training that forced him off the card.
In the wake of this news, a women’s bantamweight title fight between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano, which was originally scheduled as the show’s co-main event, will receive top billing on the evening.
Per MMA Junkie’s report, neither the nature of Weidman‘s injury nor a timetable for his return is known at this time.
For Weidman, unfortunately, injuries are nothing new.
In September 2014, he was forced to pull out of a UFC 181 title showdown against Belfort due to a broken hand. He’s also previously injured his shoulder and his knee while fighting under the UFC banner.
While Rousey vs. Zingano is an awesome fight that will provide the women’s bantamweight champ with perhaps her toughest test to date, this is a massive blow to the Los Angeles card.
Weidman vs. Belfort was a killer main event, and a one-two punch of excellent matchups with title implications looked great for the promotion.
Now, the co-main event for the evening will become Josh Koscheck vs. Jake Ellenberger, a showdown between aging welterweights with absolutely no bearing on the title picture at 170 pounds.
In fact, both men are coming off three straight losses inside the Octagon and are perhaps fighting for their careers. While it’s a fun novelty match between well-known names, it has absolutely nothing on Rousey vs. Zingano as a co-main event in the grand scheme of things.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as news develops concerning Weidman‘s injury.
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