We reported earlier today that Mark Munoz was off the UFC on FOX 2 event due to an injury which left Chael Sonnen without an opponent. The UFC announced that Chael Sonnen would now step in to face Michael Bisping with the winner facing Anderson Silva in a title fight later this year. That chain of events left Demian Maia without an opponent as he was scheduled to fight Bisping, and it wasn’t clear if he would remain on the card at that time. However, up and coming prospect Chris Weidman has agreed to face Demian Maia on less than two weeks notice.
Chris Weidman (7-0) has three wins inside the octagon since making his promotional debut less than a year ago with a unanimous decision win over Alessio Sakara, another fight he took on extremely short notice. Weidman is a former two time All-American wrestler at Hofstra University, and is also an accomplished grappler with only a short amount of training in jiu-jitsu. Weidman trains with UFC veteran Matt Serra and his trainer Ray Longo. He was last seen in action choking out Tom Lawlor back at UFC 139.
It’ll be a tough fight for Weidman as he’ll be facing MMA veteran and top ten ranked Demian Maia (15-3), but it’s certainly a win-win fight in that many probably think it’s too big of a jump up in competition on such short notice. I disagree in that he’ll get a ton of exposure, and it’s a fight that I think he can possibly win. It’s a good fight stylistically for in that he’s the better wrestler, and should be able avoid the ground with the submission ace if he wants. His striking is also developed enough that he should be able to strike with Maia even though the former has improved his craft by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years. However, if the fight hits the ground it’ll be interesting to see if the young lion can survive against a decorated grappler the likes of Maia.
The UFC on FOX 2 event will take place next Saturday on January 28th, in Chicago, Illinois, at the United Center venue and will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and Phil Davis.