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

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is joining the UFC Hall of Fame.

Weidman is being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Modern Wing, the UFC announced during Saturday's UFC 328 broadcast.

Late UFC writer Thomas Gerbasi is also being inducted as a member of the Hall of Fame's Contributor Wing.

UFC 328 took place 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 still ranks today as the longest in UFC history.

Weidman kept the belt through three title defenses over two years (889 days), including in a 2013 rematch during which he broke Silva's leg.

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

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

He officially announced his retirement in January 2025 and left the sport with a MMA record of 16-8 and a UFC record of 12-8.

Weidman is the 19th person to be named to the UFC's Modern Wing, which features fighters who turned pro in November 2000 or later.

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

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

Alex Pereira will also be honored with the 2026 Forrest Griffin Community Award during the ceremony.