Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders off of UFC 309

Chris Weidman and Eryk Anders won’t be fighting at Madison Square Garden.

At the start of the UFC 309 preliminary card broadcast, it was announced that Anders has been forced to withdraw from the event due to a medical issue. Weidman and Anders were scheduled to compete in a middleweight bout at Saturday’s event in New York headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.

The news was first reported by Combat Sports Today.

Anders (16-8, 1 NC) was set to make his 18th UFC appearance. He is coming off a win in his most recent appearance in March, when he won a unanimous decision over Jamie Pickett. That was Anders’ second win in his past five outings.

A native New Yorker, Weidman will have to wait for his next chance to compete. The former middleweight champion recently won his first fight since August 2020 when he defeated Bruno Silva via technical decision this past March.

Weidman posted a reaction to the bout cancellation on social media, with the caption “Completely devastated.”

“I am super bummed out,” Weidman said in a video. “I felt so good for this fight. I was so ready. My head is spinning right now that this is happening. I was about to walk to the arena. Just said the prayers with my family, just felt so good and so excited to put on a show at Madison Square Garden. I am so gutted.

“I just want to wish Anders—I hope he feels better, gets better soon.”

It is not yet known if the bout will be re-booked or if the fighters will move on to other matchups.