Former UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman is continuing on down the comeback trail.
After picking up a win in his most recent outing, Weidman (16-7) has been booked against Eryk Anders (16-8, 1NC) at UFC 309 on November 9, 2024. While not officially announced by the promotion, that card is expected to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
Iridium Sports Agency, who represent Anders, announced the news on Wednesday.
Weidman, 40, hails from nearby Long Island, though he now calls South Carolina home.
After snapping his leg in a fight with Uriah Hall in April 2021, Weidman was out of action for a little over two years before returning against Brad Tavares at UFC 292. He would fall to the kick-heavy game plan of Tavares, but bounce back with a technical decision win, originally a TKO, against Bruno Silva this past March.
The win over Silva saw its result changed on the fly, after it was ruled that Weidman had accidentally poked the Brazilian in the eye ahead of the finishing sequence. Either way, with the fight in the third round, “The All-American” had done enough to win it.
Weidman captured UFC gold in July of 2013, dethroning the then-unbeatable Anderson Silva. An immediate rematch followed that December, which saw Silva snap his leg in near identical fashion to the injury Weidman himself would sustain eight or so years later.
Eryk Anders, a former football player and LFA champion, made the jump to the UFC in 2017, quickly becoming known for being game for short-notice, entertaining fights. That included fighting Thiago Santos on short notice in Brazil at light heavyweight in 2018, in a Fight of the Night effort.
More recently, Anders earned a unanimous decision win over Jamie “The Nightwolf” Pickett.
While no main event has been announced for UFC 309, the long-awaited heavyweight clash between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic is the leading candidate. That fight was supposed to take place at Madison Square Garden in November of last year, but was derailed due to a Jones injury.
