It’s been nearly two years since former middleweight champion Chris Weidman scored victory in the Octagon, a TKO in his middleweight title defense against Vitor Belfort at UFC 187. Those two years feel like an eternity to a guy who lost his title to Luke Rockhold in December 2015, watched his rematch with Rockhold fall apart two weeks before UFC 199 with an injury, then watched Michael Bisping seize the opportunity to win the title over Rockhold in his stead.
It didn’t help that Weidman, realizing a life-long dream of fighting in his native New York at Madison Square Garden in November, was knocked out viciously against Yoel Romero at UFC 205.