BREAKING: Chris Weidman To Return At UFC 292

Former middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, will return after a two-year layoff.

Chris Weidman, one of the most decorated middleweights in UFC history, will return against Brad Tavares at UFC 292. Taveres is 2-3 in his last 5 and is currently on a two-fight losing streak. Not without controversy, though. Tavares’ last bout saw him get finished by Bruno Silva, but the stoppage was a bit controversial.

Though Brad is on a two fight losing streak, it’s Chris that has more to prove come UFC 292. Chris had a rather rough fall from grace, but he reached great heights first. He won UFC gold back in 2013 when he did the unthinkable and knocked out Anderson Silva. Many fans deemed this Weidman win as a fluke due to Silva’s taunting, the two ran it back later that same year.

Now, serving as an eerie portent for Chris’ most recent fight, Silva would lose this rematch after snapping his leg while throwing a leg kick. Weidman checked this kick perfectly and snapped the leg of ‘The Spider’. Chris would defend the 185lb strap two more times before meeting a prime Luke Rockhold. The fight was closely contested until it wasn’t; Rockhold took advantage of a wheel kick, took the fight down, and smashed the then-champion for a disturbing amount of time. The fight was ended in the next round.

Including, and since, this loss, Weidman would go 2-6, losing all six by way of KO/TKO. On paper, this looks bad. But, it’s worth noting that Weidman wasn’t going out there and getting wrecked by just anyone. He was only fighting the best, and most of these losses were fights that he was winning until the stoppage.

So, while many called Chris’ original win over Anderson Silva “lucky”, there’s a very solid argument that Weidman is one of the most unlucky fighters in the UFC’s lore. Specifically when taking note of his last fight against Uriah Hall. He, much like Anderson Silva in the rematch, got a leg kick checked and his leg snapped. Hall won this fight without throwing a single strike.

Can Chris Weidman Bounce Back At UFC 292?

Brad Tavares is a super tough vet of the sport. This is not an easy fight to take in general, let alone after a two year layoff and an injury as bad as Weidman’s. However, the former champ is a great fighter and a fantastic competitor. This is a very fun and interesting fight added to UFC 292, which was already shaping up to be a beautiful card regardless of this fight’s announcement. But, I’m not complaining, I love this fight being added!

UFC 292 is headlined with a highly anticipated bantamweight fight. Sean O’Malley will try his luck at defeating Aljamain Sterling, who just beat the returning Henry Cejudo in May.