The UFC’s return to New York just got a stellar middleweight bout as Chris Weidman and Gegard Mousasi are set to go head to head at UFC 210 in Buffalo on April 8th.
Following a fantastic 2016 which included four straight victories inside the UFC’s Octagon including wins over Thales Leites, Thiago Santos, Vitor Belfort and Uriah Hall, former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi has got the fight he’s been calling for, Chris Weidman.
“I think Weidman was hesitant to take the fight but I’m glad he took it. When he was undefeated he was confident, now he’s tasted defeat he know he’s not invincible.”
Defeat for Weidman would put him in a difficult position in the middleweight division. After dropping the UFC middleweight championship to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194, he made a return to action in his home state when the UFC made its debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City with UFC 205. On that night Weidman took on Yoel Romero and lost via a devastating third-round knockout.
With Weidman and Mousasi officially #4 and #5 in the UFC rankings, this fight could have a lot to say about the next title contender, especially for Mousasi. A fifth straight win at 185lb should be enough for him to get a crack at the belt.
Weidman vs. Mousasi is the first fight officially confirmed for UFC 210 and marks the promotion’s fourth event in the state of New York since the MMA ban was lifted. It also marks the UFC’s first visit to Buffalo since UFC 7 in September 1995.
