The middleweight title fight between champion Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida at UFC 173 has been cancelled. Weidman has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to a knee injury.
UFC officials announced the news on Monday.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today that middleweight champion Chris Weidman has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled title defense against Lyoto Machida on May 24. Weidman suffered a knee injury that will require minor surgery and his bout with Machida has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 5. A new main event for UFC 173 on May 24 will be announced in the days to come.
Weidman (11-0) defeated longtime middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva at UFC 162 to become the champ and defended it against him again at UFC 168 in December. The New York native checked a leg kick in the second round which broke Silva’s leg and forced the finish of the fight.
Machida (21-4), a former UFC light heavyweight champion himself, has gone 2-0 since dropping down to 185-lbs. In his debut in the division last October, he stopped Mark Munoz by strikes, and just earlier this month, he notched a lopsided decision victory Gegard Mousasi in Brazil. He has won four out of his past five fights.
Rather than finding a replacement for Machida, the organization is moving the Weidman vs. Machida bout to UFC 175 in July.
The organization is searching for a new main event at UFC 173 and will be announced in the coming days.
UFC 173 takes place May 24th, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Check out the rest of the UFC 173 card below.
MAIN CARD (PPV – 7pm PT/10pm ET)
Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Tony Ferguson vs. Katsunori Kikuno
James Krause vs. Jamie Varner
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1 – 5pm PT/8pm ET)
Michael Chiesa vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Chris Holdsworth vs. Kyung Ho Kang
Mitch Clarke vs. Al Iaquinta
Anthony Njokuani vs. Vinc Pichel
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass – 3:30pm PT/6:30pm ET)
Yves Edwards vs. Piotr Hallmann
Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia
Jingliang Li vs. Danny Mitchell
