Chris Weidman out of UFC 199 due to injury; possible replacements

When it was announced that Chris Weidman was going to rematch UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at June’s UFC 199, there were many among the MMA fanbase who groaned due to a) the way the first fight ended and b) rematch fatigue.

Haters of the Weidman/Rockhold rematch got their wish Tuesday as the former UFC middleweight champion had to withdraw from the event due to an undisclosed injury — widely speculated on Twitter today and confirmed by both Jeremy Botter and Ariel Helwani a short time ago.

The Los Angeles, CA, show still has plenty of interesting fights (bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz vs. Uriah Faber, Dan Henderson vs. Hector Lombard, BJ Penn vs. Cole Miller, and more, but you know UFC would love to keep the other California kid on that show. 

Two possible replacements: Jacare Souza who ran through Vitor Belfort this past Saturday at UFC 198 in less than a round, and Michael Bisping who already tweeted that he wants the opportunity. Bisping faced Rockhold in November 2014, a fight Rockhold won via second round submission. Bisping is coming off a unanimous decision over Anderson Silva earlier this year.

For a name that casual MMA fans know and for the story of him getting his first-ever UFC title shot, Bisping would be the call but from the sporting aspect, Souza has done more than enough to earn the shot. However, the short turnaround to June 4th might not be in the cards. However, given the ease of his fight last Saturday, he may just be up for it.

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Additionally, UFC confirmed that welterweight champion Robbie Lawler’s next title defense will indeed be against Tyron Woodley (he of the long, long layoff) on July 30th in Atlanta.