Tag: Chris Weidman

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.

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Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman looked to finally break his run of bad luck in New York in his scheduled bout against Eryk Anders on the UFC 309 prelims this past weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be following an announcement that happened during the broadcast of the early prelims at Madison Square Garden.

Jon Anik stated once the card went live that Anders had been forced out of the fight due to a medical issue. As a result, the card continued with 12-bouts with Weidman releasing a video on social media to give his reaction to the news shortly after the fans found out.

The day after the promotion’s return to Madison Square Garden, Anders also posted a video on social media where he explained why he was forced to withdraw on such short notice. Anders states that he was suffering from food poisoning throughout Saturday so couldn’t make the walk on fight night.

Weidman was obviously looking forward to fighting in New York for what could have been the last time in his career but Anders was also incredibly disappointed to miss out on a huge opportunity for his career also. He secured a decision win over Jamie Pickett in March to return to the win column but beating Weidman would have been a big scalp for him.

“Status update- got food poisoning Friday night and there was no way I would have been able to go out there and compete,” Anders wrote. “Super upset I didn’t get to compete at MSG against a former champ. I seriously doubt that opportunity will come around again, but it is what it is. Hopefully we can get that matchup rebooked ASAP. Thank you all for the messages of concern.”

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A post shared by Eryk Anders (@erykanders)

Chris Weidman’s return to New York at UFC 309, which some anticipated to be a potential retirement fight, will now not take place.

Just hours before he and Eryk Anders were scheduled to make the walk for their fight on the preliminary card at Madison Square Garden, Anders was forced out of the bout with a medical issue, per an announcement at the start of the early prelim broadcast.

The reports of the fight’s cancelation were first reported on X by users @TheMMAFoo and @MagicM_MMABets.

Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders Scrapped From UFC 309 At Last Minute

This was to be Weidman’s first fight in New York since being knocked out by Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC 230.

Weidman is 1-1 in his comeback from his horrific leg break against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. His retirement bout was not confirmed, but plenty of pundits and fans expected the former middleweight champion to potentially call time on his career after tonight’s bout.

Anders, meanwhile, last fought in March, defeating Jamie Pickett.

As a result of the cancellation, the preliminary card start time has been pushed back to 6:30pm ET.

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