Chris Weidman Returns from Badly Broken Leg, Meets Brad Tavares at UFC 292

Chris Weidman will make his first Octagon appearance in more than two years when he faces Brad Tavares at UFC 292.

Newsday was first to report the middleweight booking. It will be Weidman’s first fight since he suffered a gruesomely broken leg 17 seconds into his clash with Uriah Hall at UFC 261 on April 24, 2021. Weidman, who broke his right fibula and tibia on a checked low kick, had to undergo multiple surgeries to recover from the injury.

UFC 292 takes place on Aug. 19 at TD Garden in Boston and is expected to be headlined by a bantamweight title tilt between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley. In the co-main event, Weili Zhang will defend her strawweight crown against Amanda Lemos.

A former UFC middleweight champion, the 38-year-old Weidman is just 2-6 within the Las Vegas-based promotion since December 2015 — which dates back to when he relinquished the belt to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194. Weidman’s most recent victory came at UFC Fight Night 174, when he outpointed Omari Akhmedov in August 2020.

Tavares, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back losses against Bruno Silva and Dricus Du Plessis in UFC competition. The 35-year-old Hawaiian is 14-8 since joining the promotion in 2011.