Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will look to get back on track in his return to the 185lb division on August 8.
Weidman (14-5), who made a disasterous attempt to move to light heavyweight at UFC Boston last October, will take on Russia’s Omari Akhmedov in his return. Russian outlet TASS was first to report news of the booking.
In his attempt to make a run at the title in the 205lb division, Weidman was stopped in his tracks by Dominick Reyes. The knockout loss made it two straight for “The All-American,” who is just 1-5 in his last six fights dating back to 2015.
Weidman went 13-0 to start his career, including back-to-back wins over Anderson Silva, and title defenses against Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. He was expected to make his return to 185lbs against Jack Hermansson in May. That fight, however, fell through as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Akhmedov (20-4-1) has won three straight, most recently earning a win over Ian Heinisch at UFC 245 back in December. With the UFC since 2013, he has turned it up in the past several years, going 5-0-1 since 2016.
No official location or event title has been announced for the UFC’s August 8 event. The promotion recently returned to Las Vegas, where it has been hosting events at its own facility, the UFC Apex. Next month, it’s off to “Fight Island,” with events going down on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
