According to a March 6 report from Newsday, Long Island's Chris Weidman received the call he's been waiting for his whole life, as the UFC granted him the opportunity to fight UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva at UFC 162.
"Dream come true," Weidman said of the opportunity to fight Silva. "Ever since I've been fighting, Anderson Silva has been the champion and I've been visualizing beating him. Now I have the opportunity. I have to make the most of it."
The event takes place July 6 in Las Vegas, Nev. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.
"I'm really psyched for it as a trainer," said Ray Longo, Weidman's striking coach and lead trainer. "The only negative is the layoff and coming off the injury, but if anyone can do it, he can."
Additional UFC 162 bouts and ticket information are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Will UFC 162 be the precursor to a Weidman vs Silva rematch in New York City?
"Perfect world, [I will be ready to fight] July 4th weekend ... against Anderson Silva," Weidman said in early-Jan. "I'll grant him an immediate rematch at Madison Square Garden in New York City. [My name] is one that they don't mention ever. They're running."
Silva's camp appeared to be interested in a fight against Cung Le, before settling for the Weidman scrap.
"I actually thought that Weidman was going to be out a lot longer than he was because of his injury, but he's claiming he'll be ready to start training again in a couple of months," UFC President Dana White said in January. "We're looking at a couple of different options right now, some options that we like, and Weidman is one of them."
The UFC made it official on March 6, as Weidman fights Silva at UFC 162.
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