With a torn MCL forcing “TUF 11″ winner Court McGee out of his upcoming UFC 131 bout with Canadian Jesse “Water” Bongfeldt (21-7-1), the Ultimate Fighting Championship took little time in finding a replacement. Undefeated Chris Weidman (5-0) picks up his second UFC bout by replacing another injured fighter, and will meet Bongfeldt in June.
UFC President Dana White announced the replacement at UFC.com, “Undefeated Chris Weidman, who was impressive defeating Alessio Sakara in his UFC debut, has verbally agreed to step in against tough Canadian Jesse Bongfeldt.”
Weidman made his UFC debut last month on the UFC Live on Versus 3 card after replacing an injured Rafael Natal on two weeks notice. He earned a unanimous decision over Italian fighter Alessio Sakara at the Louisville event. The New York fighter had all of his previous victories with the Ring of Combat promotion in New Jersey.
Bongfeldt made his UFC debut in Montreal last December, the Canadian fought Rafael Natal to a majority draw on the preliminary card of the UFC 124 event. The draw ended a seven fight win streak for Bongfeldt who has fought mainly in local Canadian events.
UFC 131 is expected to take place on June 11 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and will be headlined by a heavyweight matchup between Brock Lesnar vs. Juinior dos Santos.