Chris Weidman’s light heavyweight debut is set.
The former UFC middleweight champion meets rising 205-pound contender Dominick Reyes in the UFC Boston main event on Oct. 18, ESPN reported Tuesday. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the matchup and contracts are expected to be signed shortly, according to the report.
Weidman announced he was moving up in weight last month. He is coming off a third-round TKO loss to Ronaldo Souza at UFC 230 last year. Weidman has been healing a hand injury since that fight.
Weidman, a New York native, is 1-4 in his last five dating back to 2015. After stunning longtime champ Anderson Silva, he held the title from 2013 to 2015. His only win since dropping the title to Luke Rockhold is a submission of Kelvin Gastelum in 2017.
Reyes has had an impressive 5-0 start to his Octagon career. In his last outing, “The Devastator” beat former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir in a close, somewhat controversial decision at March’s UFC London. The undefeated 29-year-old also holds wins over Ovince Saint Preux and Jared Cannonier.
No other fights have been announced for UFC Boston, which takes place at TD Garden.