Former UFC champion Chris Weidman will make his long-awaited Octagon return at UFC 292, taking on Brad Tavares. The event is headlined by Weidman’s teammate, Aljamain Sterling defending his bantamweight belt.
UFC 292 The Site For Chris Weidman
Welcome back, Chris Weidman. The former UFC middleweight champion will take on Brad Tavares at UFC 292. The event takes place August 19 from the TD Garden in Boston.
Aljamain Sterling defends his bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley in the main event, with Zhang Weili and Amanda Lemos meeting for the strawweight belt in the co-main.
Weidman has not fought since 2021 when he suffered a loss to Uriah Hall at UFC 261. The veteran suffered a leg injury that night, much like what happened to Anderson Silva all those years ago.
Prior to the setback to Hall, Weidman snapped a two-fight losing skid with a decision win over Omari Akhmedov in 2020. He is 15-6 overall with six wins coming by way of knockout and four more by submission.
Some wondered if Weidman would be able to both mentally and physically recover from the injury. His long-time coach, though, was not one of those.
“I’m gonna support Chris and what he does,” Ray Longo said during a previous interview on MMAjunkie Radio. “He’s definitely fighting again. I’m gonna say that’s 100 percent. That leg is stronger than it ever was. I just asked Chris and he said he’s kicking like a mule with it, which is insanity.
“He sounds great. He’s still a major problem in the room. He still does have it. He’s just gotta do it now when he gets in the Octagon. I don’t think he wants to go out (like he did). He doesn’t wanna go out with people remembering him like that.”
Tavares is looking to snap a two-fight losing skid, as he was bested by Bruno Silva this past April. His last win also came over Akhmedov in 2021 by split decision.
Overall, Tavares is 19-8 with five knockout and two submission victories.
The Weidman-Tavares fight was first reported by Newsday.
UFC 292 Fight Card
This marks the return of the Octagon to Boston for the first time since 2019. Ironically enough, Weidman was in the main event that evening, as he made his light heavyweight debut vs. Dominick Reyes.
Along with the two title fights and the Weidman-Tavares fight, rumored matches include Cody Garbrandt taking on Mario Bautista and Gerald Meerschaert going up against Andre Petroski.
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