UFC 292: Returning Chris Weidman not an ‘old bum,’ remains ‘a really bad matchup’ for Israel Adesanya

Chris Weidman is still a contender.

The former UFC middleweight champion will make his Octagon return against well-traveled veteran Brad Tavares as part of the upcoming UFC 292 pay-per-view (PPV) card, recently made official for Sat., Aug. 19, 2023 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

This marks the first UFC appearance for Weidman, who turns 39 in just a few days, since breaking his leg against Uriah Hall at the UFC 261 event back in early 2021. But that doesn't mean the “All American” middleweight doesn’t remain a formidable title threat.

“No one accomplished what I’ve accomplished in the middleweight division besides Israel Adesanya as far as title defenses and all that,” Weidman told The MMA Hour. “I love that matchup. I think once people see me back out there and see that I’m not this old bum at this point, and they see that I have some serious threats to bring to the table, I believe I’m a really bad matchup for [Adesanya]. But I have to prove that, and so until then I’ll shut my mouth and just go out there and prove it against Brad Tavares. I think they’ll see enough in that fight where they’ll believe.”

His loss to Hall left Weidman at just 2-6 over the last seven years with all six of those losses ending by way of knockout or technical knockout. That said, he did manage to shake off some of the cobwebs with a grappling match under the Polaris banner last March.

Weidman is currently unranked at 185 pounds.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 292 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 292: “Sterling vs. O’Malley” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.