In a major turn of events, the UFC 181 headliner in December has undergone a big change.
A hand injury suffered by middleweight champion Chris Weidman (12-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) has caused his main event title fight against Vitor Belfort (24-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) to be scrapped from the lineup. UFC officials announced the news on Monday. Officials did not announce when Weidman-Belfort would be rescheduled for.
But for fight fans, all is not lost, and Christmas will come a little early. The new main event on the card will be the welterweight title rematch between Johny Hendricks (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Robbie Lawler (24-10 MMA, 9-4 UFC).
Retaining its co-main event status on the card is the lightweight title fight between champ Anthony Pettis (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Gilbert Melendez (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
UFC 181 takes place Dec. 6 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Hendricks and Lawler first met in March at UFC 171, where they engaged in a back-and-forth main event for the welterweight title that was vacated by Georges St-Pierre. Thanks in part to a takedown in the fifth round, Hendricks inched out a unanimous decision victory.
The champion has been sidelined since then rehabbing injuries, and in the meantime, Lawler stopped Jake Ellenberger in May, then took a unanimous decision from Matt Brown in July to earn his way back to the rematch with Hendricks.
As for Weidman and Belfort, the champion defended his title in July with a unanimous decision win over Lyoto Machida, his second defense of the belt after retaining it in a rematch with Anderson Silva this past December. Belfort was set to fight him earlier this year, but in the process of cycling off his therapeutic-use exemption for testosterone-replacement therapy, he had to pull out of the fight. In the meantime, he has maintained he’ll be cleared for the fight – though now he has some unexpected extra time thanks to Weidman’s injury.
For more on UFC 181, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler)
