UFC News: Luke Rockhold out of UFC 230, replaced by Ronaldo Souza

What's the story?

As first reported by ESPN, the highly awaited Middleweight rematch between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman has fallen apart once again due to an injury to the former.

In case you didn't know...

At UFC 194, Luke Rockhold defeated Chris Weidman to win the UFC Middleweight Championship in spectacular fashion. However, shortly within the space of few months, a rematch between Rockhold and Weidman was once again made official for UFC 199, but the latter unfortunately had to pull out to due to an undisclosed injury.

British fighter Michael Bisping then stepped in for an injured Chris Weidman and eventually knocked out Luke Rockhold to win the Middleweight Title for the very first time in his career.

The heart of the matter

There has been yet another major change in the co-main event of next month's UFC 230 card, with former Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold pulling out of his scheduled bout against fellow former champion Chris Weidman.

As previously noted, the initial co-main event for UFC 230 was scheduled to be contested between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier, however, an injury to The Diamond eventually led to the cancellation of the Lightweight bout as well. And now, another undisclosed injury to Luke Rockhold has led to a change of opponents for Chris Weidman.

Weidman, who is coming off a win over Kelvin Gastelum, will now face Ronaldo Souza in next month's UFC 230 co-headliner. As noted, Souza was initially set to face David Branch on the very same night.

Below is Chris Weidman's reaction to Rockhold's injury:

I’m told @LukeRockhold has been dealing with multiple injuries, eventually adding up and forcing him off card. Hoping to be out no more than 3-4 weeks, but will first consult with doctors to determine severity of the issues. https://t.co/KbIhOWZbUd

— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) October 19, 2018

What's next?

UFC 230 will take place on the 3rd of November at the Madison Square Garden in New York City and the show will be headlined by Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis, who will battle it out for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.