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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
A hand injury to UFC Champ Chris Weidman has postponed his title bout with Vitor Belfort, and UFC 181 now has a new main event.
The UFC announced on Monday afternoon that Weidman has suffered a hairline fracture in his hand, which will keep him out around six weeks. The plan is for Weidman to now fight Belfort in February, while the Dec. 6 event will now be headlined by the rematch between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler.
Hendricks's camp believed he would be delayed until the new year because there wasn't a headlining slot for him available, but with the opening 11 weeks away, his camp jumped at the chance to step in.
Their first fight for the vacant title in March was one of the best fights of the year, and with Lawler adding two more wins while Hendricks has been nursing injuries, he lined himself up for the rematch. The co-headliner for the Dec. 6 event in Las Vegas remains the UFC Lightweight Championship bout between Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez.
Penick's Analysis: This is a bummer of an injury, but thankfully it's not going to be too much of a delay. Still, the UFC is having a really crappy time with injuries to their Champions this past year, with Weidman just the latest to get things pushed back. Thankfully Hendricks-Lawler II can happen on the card now, but how Hendricks deals with the rush back from injury is now a big question on that fight.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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