Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will fight Brad Tavares at UFC 292 in Boston on August 19, it has been reported.
The fight will represent Weidman’s first bout since suffering a badly broken leg in the opening seconds of an April 2021 fight against Uriah Hall. The injury occurred when the New Yorker threw a leg kick early in the first round, leading to a compound fracture which has sidelined him from mixed martial arts for more than two years. He undertook two surgeries to repair the injury.
“These last two years have been the hardest years of my life,” said Weidman after returning to competition in a grappling match which was broadcast on UFC Fight Pass in March. “I don’t want to cry, I’m not going to cry, but I don’t know if you know this, but I snapped my leg in half in April 2021, and I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to compete again in anything, and so to able to come out here and put a show for you guys, win or lose, is truly a dream.”
Prior to the fight with Hall, Weidman scored a decision victory against Omari Akhmedov in his return to the UFC’s middleweight fold following a light heavyweight defeat against two-time former title challenger Dominick Reyes.
Tavares, meanwhile, has lost his past two fights which have come against Bruno Silva and Dricus Du Plessis. His most recent at 185-pounds also came against Omari Akhmedov back in July 2021.
UFC 292 is expected to be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.
