Eryk Anders reveals he was pulled from UFC 309 due to food poisoning.
[autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag] reveals he was pulled from UFC 309 due to food poisoning.
Anders’ (16-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) three-round middleweight bout vs. [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) on Saturday’s prelims at Madison Square Garden in New York was pulled just minutes before the start of the event.
The 37-year-old took to Instagram to open up on what happened, and lobbied for his fight with Weidman to be rescheduled.
“Status update- got food poisoning Friday night and there was no way I would have been able to go out there and compete. Super upset I didn’t get to compete at MSG against a former champ. I seriously doubt that opportunity will come around again, but it is what it is. Hopefully we can get that matchup rebooked asap. Thank you all for the messages of concern.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCetC2jxYhZ/
Anders was looking to string together his first winning streak since 2019. He’s coming off a unanimous decision win over Jamie Pickett at UFC Fight Night 238 in March. Meanwhile, Weidman notched his first win since August 2020 when he scored a technical decision win over Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54 in March.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
One of New York’s favorite UFC sons won’t get his chance to compete at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Minutes before UFC 309 started, the promotion announced [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]’s fight was off due to an illness with his opponent [autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag]. The three-round middleweight bout was expected to take place on the prelims.
Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) and Anders (16-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) both made weight seemingly without issue at Friday’s weigh-ins. Both had voiced excitement for the bout. Neither fighter has commented on the cancellation at the time of publication.
Shortly after the news, Weidman shared a video on social media expressing his disappointment with the cancellation.
Had it happened, Weidman would’ve looked to continue momentum after a win over Bruno Silva in March. Anders aimed to win three of four, having recently become recreational drug-free for the first time in 14 years.
With the change, the UFC 309 fight card includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
James Llontop vs. Mauricio Ruffy
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/FX/Hulu, 8 p.m. ET)
Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
Damon Jackson vs. Jim Miller
Jhonata Diniz vs. Marcin Tybura
Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
PRELIMINARY CARD (Hulu/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
Bassil Hafez vs. Oban Elliott
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
Chris Weidman hopes to prove he can still hang with the top at UFC 309.
[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] hopes to prove he can still hang with the top at UFC 309.
Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) faces Eryk Anders (16-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) in Saturday’s prelims (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The former UFC middleweight champion is 1-1 since returning from his gruesome broken leg, most recently picking up a technical unanimous decision win over Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54 in March. According to DraftKings, Weidman is a slight +120 underdog against Anders, who’s a -142 favorite.
“Fans can expect an awesome show,” Weidman said on Episode 1 of UFC 309 “Embedded.” “I’m trying to showcase my skills, put on a great display of mixed martial arts and completely dominate my guy, and really shock people. I’ve been gone for so long.
I’m 40 years old, I’ve had 30 surgeries, I’ve been through a lot, probably one of the worst injuries in the history of the sport with my leg breaking in half. To get to the other side and still have the ability to compete against the best guys in the world is what I’m trying to show.”
Weidman will compete in New York for the first time since a knockout loss to Ronaldo Souza at UFC 230 in November 2018.
“Very excited to get back in there in front of a hometown crowd in New York,” Weidman said. “Hopefully, a bunch of Long Island dudes and girls are there. I just think it will be a great time. It’s been a while since I fought in New York. So, to be able to come back there and put on a show for everybody is going to be awesome. I’m super excited about it.”
With UFC 308 in the books, the promotion’s attention turns to its yearly New York pay-per-view.
UFC 309 takes place Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden and is headlined by a highly anticipated heavyweight title fight between champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and former champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag].
During the UFC 308 broadcast Saturday, the promotion officially announced the full 13-fight lineup with five main card fights and eight prelims. The main card takes place on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.
In the co-main event, lightweight stars [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] throw down in a five-round bout. The main card rounds out with [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag], [autotag]Paul Craig[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag], and [autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag].
The featured prelim is currently half-unknown with [autotag]Mauricio Ruffy[/autotag] in need of a replacement for the withdrawn [autotag]Charlie Campbell[/autotag].
Other notable prelims include [autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Azamat Murzakanov[/autotag], [autotag]Jonathan Martinez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag], and [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag].
Check out the full UFC 309 lineup below:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira – five-round bout
Viviane Aruajo vs. Karine Silva
Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews, 8 p.m. ET)
Mauricio Ruffy vs. TBA
Nikita Krylov vs. Azamat Murzakanov
Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcus McGhee
Damon Jackson vs. Jim Miller
EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD
Lucas Almeida vs. David Onama
Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Mickey Gall
Oban Elliott vs. Bassil Hafez
Veronica Hardy vs. Eduarda Moura
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
Here’s what you need to know to watch UFC 307 on pay-per-view, ESPNews and ESPN+.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
The UFC’s 11th pay-per-view event of 2024 goes down Saturday in Utah.
Here’s how to watch UFC 307 with the light heavyweight and women’s bantamweight titles on the line at the top of the card at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Broadcast and streaming info
Jon Anik, Laura Sanko, Daniel Cormier | UFC 293 commentary team
UFC 307 has a main card that begins at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (via ESPN+). The four-fight preliminary card airs on ESPNews and streams on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET. A trio of early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET.
[autotag]Dan Hellie[/autotag] will host the official UFC 307 weigh-in show on Friday at 10:50 a.m. ET.
[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] will serve as a desk analysts on the UFC 307 post-fight show and throughout the card, when necessary. The host and other analysts are to be determined.
Longtime UFC correspondent [autotag]Megan Olivi[/autotag] will conduct pre and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the UFC 307 card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside.
He will command play-by-play alongside color commentators, former two-division champion Cormier, as well as [autotag]Joe Rogan[/autotag].
[autotag]Din Thomas[/autotag] also will occasionally join the booth throughout the broadcast as the coach-analyst for the event.
He’ll be joined by UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], former middleweight champion [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] and [autotag]Laura Sanko[/autotag] as analysts.
(Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie)
Main event: Alex Pereira
Jun 29, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alex Pereira (red gloves) fights Jiri Prochazka (blue gloves) during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC Opponent: Khalil Rountree (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) Division: Light heavyweight Key wins: Jiri Prochazka (twice), Jamahal Hill, Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland Misc.: Pereira has become arguably the biggest name in the game. After he came over from a kickboxing career that included two wins over Israel Adesanya, he beat Adesanya to win the middleweight belt. Although he dropped it in a rematch, he quickly went on to win the light heavyweight belt and has defended it with two vicious bonus-winning victories.
Main event: Khalil Rountree
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 12: (R-L) Khalil Rountree Jr. punches Chris Daukaus in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Record: 14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC Opponent: Alex Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) Division: Light heavyweight Key wins: Anthony Smith, Chris Daukaus, Dustin Jacoby, Karl Roberson, Paul Craig Misc.: Rountree has been shelved for a bit due to a failed drug test – which left plenty of critics disenfranchised that he was given a title shot over other potential challengers. But he has five straight wins, four of which have come by knockout, and three bonuses in that stretch. Still, he’ll be by far the biggest underdog to go up against Pereira yet.
Main event: Raquel Pennington
Jan 20, 2024; Toronto, Canada, USA; Raquel Pennington (red glove) fights Mayra Bueno Silva (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC Opponent: Julianna Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) Division: Women’s bantamweight Key wins: Mayra Bueno Silva, Ketlen Vieira, Aspen Ladd, Macy Chiasson, Pannie Kianzad, Marion Reneau, Irene Aldana, Miesha Tate, Jessica Andrade Misc.: After 15 years in the sport, Pennington finally reached the pinnacle in January when she outworked Mayra Bueno Silva for the title vacated by former dual champion Amanda Nunes. The fight with ex-champ Peña will be her first attempted title defense.
Main event: Julianna Peña
Jul 30, 2022; Dallas, TX, USA; Julianna Pena (red gloves) fights Amanda Nunes (blue gloves) in a women’s bantamweight title bout during UFC 277 at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Record: 12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC Opponent: Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) Division: Women’s bantamweight Key wins: Amanda Nunes, Sara McMann, Cat Zingano, Jessica Eye Misc.: Peña submitted Amanda Nunes to win the title in late 2021 in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. But she was dominated in the rematch eight months later and dropped the belt. She’s been on the shelf for more than two years.
UFC 307 main card betting odds
Kayla Harrison
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Alex Pereira (-525) vs. Khalil Rountree (+360) – for light heavyweight title
Champ Raquel Pennington (-180) vs. Julianna Peña (+150) – for women’s bantamweight title
Jose Aldo (+145) vs. Mario Bautista (-175)
Kayla Harrison (-850) vs. Ketlen Vieira (+500)
Roman Dolidze (+145) vs. Kevin Holland (-175)
UFC 307 prelim betting odds
Marina Rodriguez
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews/ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Joaquin Buckley (-200) vs. Stephen Thompson (+170)
Iasmin Lucindo (-175) vs. Marina Rodriguez (+145)
Cesar Almeida (-400) vs. Ihor Potieria (+300)
Alexander Hernandez (-215) vs. Austin Hubbard (+170)
Chris Weidman lauds UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis for his recent run.
[autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] lauds UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] for his recent run.
Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) makes his first title defense against Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in the UFC 305 main event Aug. 17 at RAC Arena in Perth (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Former champion Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) admits there were question marks surrounding Du Plessis at first, but credited him for becoming champion.
“Dricus Du Plessis, there was so much doubt about this guy because he’s got such an unorthodox style, and he looks tired a lot of the time, but he’s really proven to be a worthy champion,” Weidman told Cageside Press.
“The Adesanya fight coming up, I’m super excited to see that. You’ve got a way more polished striker traditionally, really athletic and just great technique, against a guy who kind of lunges forward, his chin is up in the air. So it’s going to be interesting to see how that entanglement works.”
Weidman was able to end Anderson Silva’s long title reign to become middleweight champion in 2013. He defended his belt three times before he lost it to Luke Rockhold in 2015.
In the past year, the middleweight title has changed hands multiple times – from Adesanya, to Sean Strickland, to now Du Plessis.
“It’s fun to watch,” Weidman said on his division. “It’s always exciting when you have kind of a fluid division where you don’t have just one champion up top. The belt has been changing hands a lot.”
Weidman picked up his first win since 2020 when he scored a unanimous decision win over Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54. He isn’t currently booked, but still has the desire to compete.
“I’m still training and I’m looking to kick some ass here in the UFC still.”
Injuries are part of the game in MMA, but there’s nothing worse than one ends a marquee UFC fight.
While the term “freak injury” might not be appropriate to use when discussing a sport that is inherently dangerous, 14 UFC main events have ended in unforeseen injuries – broken legs, separated shoulders, eye pokes, etc. – that don’t typically come in the sequence of MMA combat.
Scroll below to see a chronology of UFC main events that ended in that nature.
Note: Injuries sustained on a TKO due to strikes or tapout due to a submission are not included, nor are retirements on the stool due to extended fight damage or exhaustion. Laceration-based stoppages also are not included since they come as an intentional result of the opposition’s attack.
In less than three years with the UFC, Pereira already has captured titles in two weight divisions and even is contemplating a future move to heavyweight. Weidman thinks Pereira is one-dimensional and compared his lack of well-rounded skills to Ben Askren, who dominated opposition with his grappling.
“It’s hard for me to get fully behind Pereira because I do see such an opening with the wrestling, and he hasn’t really fought wrestlers,” Weidman said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “It’s almost so crazy, and it’s such a deficiency based on what we’ve seen so far. It’s almost like Ben Askren coming into the UFC and being able to just become a multiple-time champion with no hands.
“It’s like a striker looking at Ben Askren and thinking, ‘How the hell is this guy the world champion?’ He was able to do it in Bellator, he was able to do it (in ONE Championship). I mean, the guy had an unbelievable MMA career and he had no striking at all. … This guy’s almost the opposite. I would almost say he’s as bad (at) wrestling as Ben Askren is with striking.”
Like Daniel Cormier, Weidman is surprised with the amount of success Pereira has been able to have with what he sees as a limited skill set.
“This guy may go down as one of the best fighters of all time,” Weidman said. “It is weird to see. I don’t know if it’s just the matchups or the evolution of the sport.”
Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith want to see Chris Weidman face a marquee name next.
[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] want to see [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] face a marquee name next.
Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) picked up his first win since August 2020 when he defeated Bruno Silva at UFC on ESPN 54 – a TKO finish which was later ruled a unanimous decision after instant replay showed Weidman poking Silva in the eyes twice before dropping him.
Although there was controversy surrounding the finish, Smith thinks former champion Weidman still has the ability to face elite-level competition at middleweight.
“Skill for skill, I think he can compete with everybody in that division up to the very top,” Smith said on a recent episode of the “Believe You Me” podcast. “But it’s just, can he stay healthy enough to put a run together? … If you can get him a big name, halfway up, maybe fast-track him.”
Looking through the rankings, Bisping threw out the name [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC), who recently lost his middleweight title in a competitive battle against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297.
“Give him Sean Strickland,” Bisping said. “Sean Strickland-Chris Weidman: ‘The All-American’ against ‘Here’s the thing guys’ American. Do it. I think that’s a good matchup.”
Smith was on board with the idea right away.
“That’s a really good fight,” Smith said. “I didn’t even think about that. I’m going to text him that right now.”
Strickland would be considered a big step up in competition after Weidman rebounded with a win over unranked Silva. Prior to that, the 39-year-old dropped a decision to Brad Tavares at UFC 292 – his first fight back after suffering a gruesome leg break in April 2021.
Daniel Cormier doesn’t have an issue with Chris Weidman getting his hand raised despite some egregious eye pokes at UFC on ESPN 54.
[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] doesn’t have an issue with [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] getting his hand raised at UFC on ESPN 54.
Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) picked up a controversial win over Bruno Silva this past Saturday at Boardwalk Hall – a unanimous decision that was initially ruled a third-round TKO. Weidman dropped Silva with a left hook but poked him in both eyes before landing the blow.
The finish was reviewed, and a slow-motion replay showed that Silva was clearly poked in the eye two times before Weidman dropped him and finished him on the ground. With Weidman up on the judges’ scorecards, the result was overturned to a unanimous decision, and Cormier agrees with the final outcome of the fight.
“There’s a rule in place, that if you go past a certain point in the fight, it’s scored,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “If there is an illegal blow, they score the fight and if you score that fight, Chris Weidman wins. So I think by them making it a decision, it saves the fight, staying a win for Chris Weidman – because he really did deserve to get a victory because he fought so well. He made one point that I thought was very important. He said, ‘I get it, but Bruno Silva has to understand you can’t fall to the ground and turn away from the fight because I am going to jump on you and finish the fight.’
“Chris Weidman did what his instincts told him, and that was to go finish Bruno Silva when Bruno reacted the way that he did from the eye poke. I’m only saying this because, to me, it felt like a soccer player when they get fouled and they’re rolling around on the ground when the guy barely touches them. Bruno Silva got eye poked, but I think he understood where he was in the fight. He was getting beat. He was losing. He fell to the ground. He reacted in the way he was reacting, hoping, ‘Wait, stop, stop, stop, poke to the eye. No contest.’ Instead, Weidman went and finished him.”
Weidman picked up his first win in almost four years, and his first since breaking his leg in a TKO loss to Uriah Hall in April 2021.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 54.
