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Injury moves Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida from UFC 173 to UFC 175

Champion to undergo minor surgery on knee

UFC 168 - Weidman vs. Silva

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Chris Weidman wraps himself in a U.S. flag after scoring a second round TKO of Anderson Silva during their middleweight title fight at UFC 168 Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The UFC’s next middleweight championship bout will occur at the same place with the same fighters as previously announced, just at a later date.

The local promotion announced Monday that Chris Weidman’s title defense against Lyoto Machida would shift from the main event of UFC 173 on May 24 in Las Vegas to the headlining bout of UFC 175 on July 5.

Weidman suffered a minor knee injury that requires surgery to force the rescheduling.

The UFC is expected to reveal a new main event shortly for the annual Memorial Day Weekend card. The annual Fourth of July event will now feature a middleweight title fight for the third straight year.

In 2011, Anderson Silva defended his title in a much-anticipated rematch against Chael Sonnen at UFC 148. A year later, Weidman dethroned Silva with a second-round knockout at UFC 162.

No other bouts are announced for UFC 175, but the UFC 173 card is full, aside from the now-vacant top spot. Other pay-per-view fights include a heavyweight bout between former champion Junior dos Santos and Stipe Micocic and a bantamweight contest pitting T.J. Dillashaw against Takeya Mizugaki.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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