Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was left devastated and a sizable chunk of cash down when an illness to Eryk Anders scuppered his plans of competing at Madison Square Garden earlier this month.
At UFC 309, Weidman was set for his second assignment of 2024 and third since returning from a gruesome broken leg that had kept him out for two years. But his pursuit of a first win streak since 2015 will have to wait.
After completing his training camp, fight-week obligations, and successfully making weight, Weidman awoke on Saturday, Nov. 16, expecting to make the walk on MMA’s biggest stage for the 20th time.
But disaster struck just hours before his scheduled preliminary clash with Anders when a bout of food poisoning became too serious for the ex-American football linebacker to fight through.
That left a devastated Weidman off the card on late notice, with the New York State Athletic Commission rejecting the UFC’s attempts to book a same-day replacement opponent.
And worse still, it wasn’t just the chance to make it two wins on the bounce that the 40-year-old missed out on…
During a recent appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Weidman explained that while he is expecting to be ‘taken care of’ in some way financially, he won’t be getting his full purse.
The American admitted the situation is difficult to take, especially given his compensation would have already been set aside and is ultimately now being kept by the UFC.
“My show money is my win money, I have guaranteed money,” Weidman said. “So that was my point, ‘I showed up, you guys had that on the budget sheet to begin with, you guys made a great night, why do you guys keep that money and I don’t?’ That was my thought.
“Their thoughts were, ‘Listen, this happens on like 40 percent of the cards. If we pay people to not fight…’ They just want to be consistent on what they do in those situations,” Weidman continued. “That’s what I think they’ve decided to do consistently for their business.”
The situation is similar to that of Stephen Thompson last year. He made public his disappointment at not being paid for his canceled fight with Michel Pereira at UFC 291, which fell through when the Brazilian missed weight after “Wonderboy” had already successfully got under the welterweight limit.
Fortunately for Weidman, he won’t have to wait long to pick up a full check for sharing the cage with Anders. The pair’s clash has been rescheduled for UFC 310 in Las Vegas on Dec. 7, this time at a catchweight of 195 pounds.