Jul 5, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Lyoto Machida (blue gloves) lands a blow to Chris Weidman (red gloves) during a middleweight title fight at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Jul 5, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Lyoto Machida (blue gloves) lands a blow to Chris Weidman (red gloves) during a middleweight title fight at Mandalay Bay Events Center. REUTERS

Chris Weidman was fighting Lyoto Machida with a misdiagnosed broken hand. He will not be risking that precious fist against Vitor Belfort in UFC 181 this Dec. 6 at Las Vegas.

The man who stopped the legendary Anderson Silva twice (and even broke his leg) will be sidelined for four weeks to heal the hand, which will be placed in a cast. The reigning UFC middleweight champion had to be checked by doctors in Los Angeles after he complained of discomfort in his left hand, the same one he sprained during the Machida match.

It can be recalled that the middleweight and undefeated champion (12-0) relayed in an interview with MMA Fighting, a sports site devoted to mixed martial arts news, that he sprained ligaments in his left hand after the Machida fight. His head trainer Ray Longo said that Weidman's hand was misdiagnosed and that his ward may have been fighting Machida with a broken hand.

"Everything happens for a reason," Longo said per MMA Fightng. "We're going to get Chris healthy and then we're going to steamroll this guy. Believe me."

Vitor Belfort, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert was disappointed with the news but is looking forward to dispose the champion at a later date, possibly February. He expressed via his Facebook fan page his dismay with the postponement of the big event. Belfort said that it he trusts God's plans and that he will continue training despite the development.

Due to the said cancellation, the UFC immediately went into contingency mode and placed the rematch of Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler as the new main event of UFC 181. It also confirmed the news through Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting that they are cancelling the Weidman-Belfort match.

As a result, Johny Hendricks vs Robbie Lawler 2 is now taking place on Dec. 6, per Dana White.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 22, 2014

This moves the timetable of return of Hendricks to the ring at an earlier date as he was projected to be out until early 2015. Nevertheless, this is good news to all mixed martial arts fans as the number of sidelined fighters and cancelled matches have been starving the appetite of fighting aficionados.