Chris Weidman has signed with the UFC and will make his debut against Alessio Sakara at UFC Live 3. The card will take place on March 3 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
Heavy.com reported that Weidman was stepping into the bout. Sakara was originally scheduled to face Rafael Natal, but according to Versus.com he pulled out of the fight with an injury.
Weidman has built a 4-0 record fighting for Ring on Combat. In his last fight, he took a decision victory over Valdir Araugo. He also holds a victory over former ROC middleweight champion Uriah Hall.
A lot of the hype around Weidman comes from his grappling prowess. He impressed everyone at the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships. At Hofstra University, he earned NCAA Division I All-American status twice and picked up victories over Ryan Bader and Phil Davis.
Sakara moved to the middleweight division in 2008. He dropped his debut fight at the new weight to Chris Leben, but he has since picked up three-straight wins. In his last fight, he took a technical knockout victory over James Irvin after he broke his opponent’s orbital bone.
Headlining UFC Live 3 is a welterweight fight between Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann.