Chris Weidman Injured; Out of UFC 181 Fight With Vitor Belfort

The much anticipated UFC middleweight title fight between Vitor Belfort and Chris Weidman has been postponed after the champion Weidman suffered a broken hand today. UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com. The fight was set to headline UFC 181 in Las Vegas on December 6th but will now be moved into February of 2015 according to White.

Weidman has been champion since defeating long-time king Anderson Silva twice in 2013. The American again defended his title earlier this year in a closely fought decision win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 175. Belfort, though, was expected to be his toughest test yet after demolishing the likes of Dan Henderson, Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping on his way to the title shot.

Shortly after new broke Belfort posted this response online.

“I’ve just received the news that Chris Weidman broke his hand and, for what everything points to, our fight is gonna be moved to February. We don’t usually understand God’s way, and even when we think we understand, He comes and shows us it’s nothing what we thought it was….” Belfort said.

It’s another injury setback for the champion who spent six months on the sidelines due to a niggling knee injury prior to his fight against Lyoto Machida. For Belfort it may be a blessing in disguise as it gives him more time to prepare for his first fight without the use of testosterone replacement therapy.

The UFC have also confirmed that as a result of the injury, UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks will take on No. 1 contender Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC 181 on Dec. 6 instead. The fight will serve as a rematch to their hotly-contested title fight in March, a bout narrowly won by Hendricks. The lightweight title bout between champion Anthony Pettis and top contender Gilbert Melendez will serve as the co-main event.