Chris Weidman will defend his middleweight title against Vitor Belfort at UFC 173. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Chris Weidman will defend his UFC middleweight title for the second time on May 24, when the New Yorker squares off with Vitor Belfort at UFC 173.
Weidman captured the middleweight title by knocking out Anderson Silva this past July at UFC 162 and then defended the belt successfully in December, breaking the former champion’s leg while checking a low kick at UFC 168. Undefeated through 11 pro outings, the 29-year-old owns seven Octagon wins to his credit and has stopped eight of his victims inside the distance.
Belfort has won five of his last six fights and rides a three-fight winning streak into his second middleweight title opportunity. “The Phenom” was perfect in 2013, posting violent knockouts of Michael Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson to earn his crack at Weidman’s belt.