Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chris Weidman celebrates after successfully defending his middleweight title against Lyoto Machida at Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Las Vegas, NV, USA; Chris Weidman celebrates after successfully defending his middleweight title against Lyoto Machida at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Reuters

Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort fight at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 184 main event has been called off and a women’s bantamweight title fight between Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano has been elevated to the main event. Weidman will not defend his title against Belfort on Feb. 29 because the UFC middleweight champion has suffered a rib injury in training.

According to a report in Yahoo! Sports, Weidman told FOX Sports that he tore a cartilage in training this week, which cause the cancellation of his fight against Belfort. According to a UFC spokesperson, the timetable for Weidman’s return is unknown.

In September 2014, Chris Weidman was forced to call off a title showdown against Belfort at the UFC 181 due to a hand injury. There are also previous incidents where the 30-year-old suffered shoulder and knee injuries while fighting under the UFC banner. After defeating Anderson Silva in 2013, Weidman also suffered a knee injury.

The most recent Weidman injury is the latest in the string of delays for the Weidman vs. Belfort fight, which has been delayed due to couple of injuries of the undefeated MMA fighter and Belfort’s standing in licensing because of issues in testosterone use.

The Rousey vs. Zingano fight, which was originally scheduled as the co-main event of the show, will be a good pairing but the the cancellation fo the Weidman vs. Belfort fight is seen as a massive blow to the Los Angeles card. Now, the co-main event will be Josh Koscheck vs. Jake Ellenberger welterweight fight.

Meanwhile, Miesha Tate is still hopeful for a third shot at Ronda Rousey, despite the pair of losses against the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. Tate, who is No. 2 in the division, is set to face Sara McMann at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Now that Ronda Rousey will defend her title against Cat Zingano on Feb. 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles at the main event of UFC 184, the two might face in a mega-fight in the summer.

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