Chris Weidman will not be making his return to the UFC in February. The former middleweight champion was scheduled to tee off against Uriah Hall on UFC 258. Hall is coming off beating Anderson Silva in his retirement fight, but he and Weidman will have to wait for their bout.

Chris Weidman has tested positive for COVID-19 and thus had to drop out of the bout. This is rough news for Weidman fans who were expecting to see him continue building off his last win. However, they will now have to wait an extra two months as the UFC is planning on rescheduling the bout on UFC 261 in April.

UFC 261 may be an ambitious card. This would be the first fight on the card, and the UFC is planning on having it in a new location. Ariel Helwani himself reported through John Hyon Ko that this PPV may take place in Singapore. However, those plans are yet to be finalized. Zhang Weili vs Rose Namajunas is rumored to be the headliner.

Chris Weidman: Could this be a setback?

Fighters recovering from COVID doesn’t have one guaranteed result. While most do get back from it pretty much fine, there have been instances of fighters struggling with it. Most recently, Khamzat Chimaev had to postpone his re-booking with Leon Edwards because he was having a hard time recovering from COVID.

Weidman has been given a cushier period to recover, with the fight set to take place three months from now. But, this could also be a blessing in disguise, as it could allow Weidman to fully recover and come back stronger. He may need to because Uriah Hall isn’t a joke.

The owner of one of the most brutal KOs in UFC history, Hall was expected to face Weidman years ago. That was when he was the hottest rising contender in the UFC, and Weidman was the man that dethroned Anderson Silva. We got Hall vs Silva in 2020, so we must get Hall vs Weidman in 2021. Hopefully, Weidman recovers well and we get a great fight in April.