Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman will take on Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC on FOX 25 main event on July 22 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The UFC officially announced the match-up on Friday during a press conference in Dallas, Texas.
Weidman (13-3) is coming off a controversial loss to Gegard Mousasi in his last outing. Mousasi landed a legal knee that was initially thought to be illegal. Once it was determined that the knee was not illegal, the fight was ruled a technical knockout win for Mousasi. Weidman has appealed the result.
Weidman captured the middleweight title by knocking out Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in July 2013. He defended the title three times before losing to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194. Weidman has lost three fights in a row and needs a win to remain relevant in the division he once was champion.
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Gastelum (13-2, 1 NC) is undefeated as a middleweight. He knocked out Vitor Belfort in his last outing, but the result was overturned after he failed a drug test for marijuana metabolites. Despite the result against Belfort being overturned, Gastelum is red hot and a contender in two divisions. A win over the former champion on July 22 would move him into title discussions.
UFC on FOX 25 will be the first event the UFC has hosted on Long Island.
