According to a report from ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto, the light heavyweight debut of former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has been set. Per the report, Weidman will take on rising contender Dominick Reyes in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 18 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Chris Weidman
Weidman, the 35-year-old Long Island native, has experienced quite a rough stretch since losing his title via TKO to Luke Rockhold in 2015. Following that loss, the Long Island fighter lost three of his next four bouts. This downturn includes stoppage losses to Yoel Romero, Gegard Mousasi, and Ronaldo Souza. His only win in that stretch came against Kelvin Gastelum in 2017, which Weidman won via third-round submission.
Prior to meeting Rockhold, Weidman had compiled a perfect 13-0 professional record. That included a stunning 2013 stoppage win over Anderson Silva to win the title in addition to three consecutive title defenses over Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort.
Dominick Reyes
Reyes, meanwhile, is the younger fighter at 29 and has quickly established himself as a contender in the relatively shallow 205-pound division. After putting together a 6-0 record that featured five finishes, the Californian signed with the UFC in 2017. He has since put together a five-fight winning streak that includes three finishes and victories over Jared Cannonier, Ovince Saint Preux and Volkan Oezdemir.
With eight finishes in 11 victories, Reyes has certainly made his presence felt in the light heavyweight division. It could be argued, however, that Weidman will represent the toughest test of the young fighter’s career.
In addition, it’s also quite possible that the winner of this bout will earn himself a title shot against champion Jon Jones. Jones, who has been incredibly active since returning late last year, is coming off of a rather close split-decision victory over Thiago Santos earlier this month.