A bout between top middleweight contenders Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch has been added to the fight card of UFC 155, promotion officials announced on Friday.
Weidman had long been publicly campaigning for a shot against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, however the match-up ultimately failed to come to fruition, with Silva electing to remain on the sidelines until 2013.
“I think I’m the number-one contender in the division but with Anderson not fighting for the rest of 2012, I want to stay busy and keep getting better,” Weidman stated. “I think I’m the best middleweight in the world and I’m going to prove it against another top contender.”
UFC 155 takes place December 29, 2012 and is headlined by a heavyweight championship rematch between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. An additional trio of bouts — Chael Sonnen vs. Forrest Griffin, Gray Maynard vs. Joe Lauzon, and Matt Mitrione vs. Phil De Fries — have also been confirmed for the year-end card.
The undefeated Weidman (9-0) recently announced his arrival to the 185-pound division’s top ranks at UFC on FUEL 4, where he dominated top contender Mark Munoz for two rounds until brutally knocking him out with a standing elbow and flurry of punches. Prior to the win, Weidman earned a unanimous decision victory over Demian Maia on eleven days notice at UFC on FOX 2.
Boetsch (16-4), meanwhile, rides a string of high-profile upsets into the contest after knocking out Yushin Okami and taking a split decision over former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard. A former light heavyweight, “The Barbarian” is undefeated since dropping down to 185 pounds, racking up a four straight wins inside the Octagon.