Earlier this month, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was going to make his long-awaited homecoming in New York. This was when he was scheduled to face Eryk Anders at the highly anticipated UFC 309 event.
Chris Weidman joined the UFC in 2011 and since then he has only competed in his home state twice. On both occasions, he came up short. ‘The All-American’ had hoped to turn things around when he competed on UFC 309 with a pivotal matchup against Anders in the middleweight division.
However, just hours before the fight, the UFC broadcast team announced that Anders had withdrawn due to medical issues. This left Weidman “crushed” by the unexpected cancellation.
Chris Weidman Reveals Food Poisoning Forced Eryk Anders Out of UFC 309
However, the exact reason for Eryk Ander’s withdrawal from the fight wasn’t initially disclosed. It was later revealed that the 37-year-old had suffered from food poisoning.
Chris Weidman shared that he encountered Anders the following day after the event at the fighter’s hotel. This was where ‘Ya Boi’ explained what had happened to him. Chris Weidman recounted what was said on The Ariel Helwani Show when he said;
“I actually saw him the next day, walking through the hotel lobby,”
“We chatted for a bit. Apparently, he and another guy—I’m not sure if it was a teammate or just someone managed by the same company, Marcus McGhee—both got food poisoning. McGhee fought, though.”
Marcus McGhee, who was also competing on the UFC 309 card, did manage to secure a unanimous decision victory. This was in his fight against Jonathan Martinez. This was despite being unwell with the illness. Chris Weidman went on and said;
“They went to the same Italian spot in New York,”
“They both got food poisoning, but I guess McGhee’s case wasn’t as severe. He fought, but Anders couldn’t.”
Weidman Shares Frustration
Although, Chris Weidman was not the man to withdraw from the fight against Anders, the former champion has revealed that he hasn’t received his full fight purse. This is despite weighing in and being ready to compete if the UFC needed him. Speaking about this Chris explained;
“They’re going to take care of me; they’re doing something for me,”
“But I’m not getting my full purse from UFC 309, I’ll put that out there. It’s tough—you show up, you make weight.”
Chris Weidman went on to talk about his frustration adding;
“My show money is my win money; it’s guaranteed. That was my point—I showed up, you guys had that on the budget to begin with, and it was a great night. Why do you keep that money and I don’t? That was my thought.”
This fight between Weidman and Anders has since been rescheduled for UFC 310 which will happen on December 7th. This will be at a catchweight of 195 pounds. However, Weidman has revealed that the UFC had worked until the last minute to find a replacement opponent for him to be able to stay on the card. Chris explained;
“They told me they were trying to find another opponent for me the whole day,”
“They were looking for 205-pounders—guys who fought that day or anyone in the area—to step in, trying to pull off one of those Dan Ige-type situations. But the New York commission wouldn’t allow anything on that kind of short notice, and that’s what stopped it from happening.”
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
