Chris Weidman Suffers Rib Injury, UFC 184 Title Defense Against Vitor Belfort Canceled

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The main event of UFC 184 is no longer, as Chris Weidman has been forced out of his 185-pound title defense against Vitor Belfort due to a rib injury.

A source close to the situation informed Sherdog.com of the news on Friday. Shortly thereafter, Ultimate Fighting Championship officials confirmed Weidman's withdrawal.

The women’s bantamweight title clash between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano will move into the main event slot. Meanwhile, Fox Sports 1 is reporting that a 135-pound matchup pitting Holly Holm against Raquel Pennington has been elevated to the co-headliner. The pay-per-view event takes place at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 28.

Weidman-Belfort was initially slated to take place at UFC 181 on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, but the champion suffered a fractured hand that delayed the fight to early 2015. Now another Weidman ailment has derailed the bout again.

This marks the second time in as many tries an event in Los Angeles has lost its scheduled headliner to injury. Last August, UFC 176 was ultimately canceled after an injury to Jose Aldo forced his featherweight title fight against Chad Mendes to be postponed.