The mega-card that was supposed to be UFC 155 has now suffered its 3rd main card change already and its 2nd due to injury. Middleweight contender Chris Weidman was scheduled to face fellow contender Tim Boetsch in maybe the most important fight on the card besides the main event, but an undisclosed injury has forced him out of the bout. Mark La Monica of Newsday has the unfortunate news.
Long Island‘s Chris Weidman, one of top UFC middleweight fighters, is out of UFC 155 next month with an undisclosed injury, Newsday has learned.
He was scheduled to fight Tim Boetsch on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.
“It’s awful,” trainer Ray Longo said.
That is a huge loss. There’s no two ways about it. The UFC already has a replacement, and it’s Weidman’s teammate Constantinos Philippou.
Instead, Boetsch will fight Costa Philippou, a teammate of Weidman’s with Longo and Matt Serra. Philippou was supposed to fight this past Saturday against Nick Ring at UFC 154 in Montreal, but the bout was canceled that morning when Ring fell ill.
UFC 155 is now down to just two PPV fights that have not been changed – JDS vs. Velasquez II and Belcher vs. Okami II.
UPDATE by Nate Wilcox: Ariel Helwani has more details on Weidman’s injury at MMA Fighting:
According to Weidman, he injured his shoulder while training at Power MMA in Arizona recently.
“My shoulder popped,” he said. “I never felt anything like it before. Now I can hardly move my arm.”
Weidman said he is awaiting a final diagnosis from his doctor, but the initial report is showing a torn labrum, with a possible shoulder dislocation or separation.
He has been told that following surgery, which will most likely be needed, he’ll be forced to sit on the sidelines for approximately three-to-six months.