Chris Weidman to Be Inducted into UFC Hall of Fame as Part of 2026 Class

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is becoming a member of the UFC Hall of Fame.

Weidman is being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Modern Wing, the UFC introduced throughout Saturday’s UFC 328 broadcast.

Late UFC author Thomas Gerbasi can also be being inducted as a member of the Hall of Fame’s Contributor Wing.

UFC 328 befell Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Weidman made his UFC debut in 2011 and rose to fame two years later when he knocked out Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in 2013.

That victory allowed Weidman to take the middleweight belt from Silva, whose seven-year reign as middleweight champion nonetheless ranks in the present day as the longest in UFC historical past.

Weidman stored the belt via three title defenses over two years (889 days), together with in a 2013 rematch throughout which he broke Silva’s leg.

He efficiently defended the belt for a second time towards Lyoto Machida at UFC 175 in 2014, then earned a third title protection with a TKO of Vitor Belfort at UFC 187 in 2015.

Weidman’s reign as UFC middleweight champion resulted in December 2015 with a UFC 194 loss to Luke Rockhold.

I’ve formally announced his retirement in January 2025 and left the game with an MMA file of 16-8 and a UFC file of 12-8.

Weidman is the nineteenth particular person to be named to the UFC’s Modern Wing, which options fighters who turned professional in November 2000 or later.

The 2026 UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony is ready to happen at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 9.

Former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and bantamweight Dominick Cruz are additionally set to be induced into the Modern Wing, whereas a 2020 strawweight bout between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczy can be inducted into the Fight Wing.

Alex Pereira may also be honored with the 2026 Forrest Griffin Community Award in the course of the ceremony.