Chris Weidman's return to New York at UFC 309, which some anticipated to be a potential retirement fight, will now not take place.
Just hours before he and Eryk Anders were scheduled to make the walk for their fight on the preliminary card at Madison Square Garden, Anders was forced out of the bout with a medical issue, per an announcement at the start of the early prelim broadcast.
The reports of the fight's cancelation were first reported on X by users @TheMMAFoo and @MagicM_MMABets.
Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders Scrapped From UFC 309 At Last Minute
This was to be Weidman's first fight in New York since being knocked out by Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza at UFC 230.
Weidman is 1-1 in his comeback from his horrific leg break against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. His retirement bout was not confirmed, but plenty of pundits and fans expected the former middleweight champion to potentially call time on his career after tonight's bout.
Anders, meanwhile, last fought in March, defeating Jamie Pickett.
As a result of the cancellation, the preliminary card start time has been pushed back to 6:30pm ET.