Chris Weidman injured, title defense versus Vitor Belfort at UFC 184 is off

The way things are going, the middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort may never occur.

For the third time, a planned bout between the men has been postponed. Weidman suffered a rib injury in training and the UFC announced on Friday that he will be unable to defend his belt against the Brazilian slugger in the main event of UFC 184 on Feb. 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The new main event will feature women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey against No. 1 contender Cat Zingano. The UFC moved the debut of former boxing champion Holly Holm into the co-main event spot against Raquel Pennington.

It's quite a blow to the card, because a Holm-Pennington bout has nowhere near the kind of buzz that the Weidman-Belfort match did.

This is the third time one or the other of the men has pulled out of the bout. They were first supposed to fight at UFC 173 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas on May 24, 2014. But Belfort had problems with a drug test and withdrew his request for a license from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

When Belfort's issues with the commission were settled in the summer, the UFC announced he would challenge Weidman for the belt in the main event of UFC 181 on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas. But Weidman injured a hand, forcing the postponement of the bout until Feb. 28.

Now, Weidman is out and the timetable for his return is uncertain.

The card is far less attractive without Weidman-Belfort and will test Rousey's drawing power in her hometown.

from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1zHip9u