Chris Weidman will make his return to the Octagon after more than two years of absence at the pay-per-view next August.
Indeed, according to multiple sources, including MMAJunkie.com, former middleweight champion Chris Weidman (15-6) will face veteran Brad Tavares (19-8) on the UFC 292 card on August 19. This event will be held at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
Headlining the night will be bantamweight division champion Aljamain Sterling looking to defend his title against Sean O’Malley. Zhang Weili, the strawweight champion, will also meet Amanda Lemos in the co-main event of the card.
The 38-year-old Weidman hasn’t fought since suffering a horrific injury in his TKO loss to Uriah Hall in April 2021. Last March, the American middleweight returned to the tatami for the Polaris 23 grappling event, where he lost by unanimous decision.
Since losing his 185-pound championship title to Luke Rockhold in 2015, Weidman has posted a poor 2-5 record. “The All-American” is therefore counting on a victory at UFC 292 to launch his ultimate race for the belt.
Facing him, Tavares comes out of a defeat by TKO against the Brazilian Bruno Silva last April. Like Weidman, the 35-year-old Hawaiian fighter has a poor record of 2 wins for 4 losses in his last 6 outings in the cage.
With the addition of the middleweight bout between Chris Weidman and Brad Tavares, here is the current schedule for UFC 292:
- Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. Sean O’Malley (for the bantamweight title)
- Zhang Weili (c) vs. Amanda Lemos (for strawweight title)
- Brad Tavares vs. Chris Weidman
- Mario Bautista vs. Cody Garbrandt
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Andre Petroski
