Chris Weidman vs. Gegard Mousasi set for UFC 210 in Buffalo
Chris Weidman reacts during UFC 205 weigh-ins at Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2016 in New York City. Credit: Getty Images / Michael Reaves
Gegard Mousasi has spent the past two months calling out every top UFC middleweight to fight him.
Those callouts can stop now.
Chris Weidman will fight Mousasi at UFC 210 in Buffalo on April 8, UFC officials said Thursday.
“Once I heard he was calling me out, I said let’s give this guy what he wants,” Weidman said. “Now I’m going to throw this guy a beating.”
It is the first official fight announcement for the pay-per-view event as the UFC returns to Buffalo for the first since UFC 7 on Sept. 8, 1995.
Weidman, a 32-year-old Serra-Longo fighter from Baldwin, is a former middleweight champion is on a two-fight losing streak. Weidman (13-2, 9-2 UFC) last fought at UFC 205 in November at Madison Square Garden, losing by third-round knockout via a flying knee by Yoel Romero.
Mousasi (41-6-2, 8-3) went on a four-fight winning streak in 2016, including three straight by stoppage. He last fought on Nov. 19 and beat Uriah Hall by first-round TKO.
It will be the second fight for Weidman in his home state after lobbying since 2013 to get mixed martial arts legalized in New York.
This will be the fourth UFC event in New York since the state legalized MMA last March, fulfilling the promise of former UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta to bring four events to the state in each of the first three years once the law passed. UFC 205 took place in Manhattan last November, followed by UFC Fight Night Albany in December. UFC 208 is scheduled for Feb. 11 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
