Ex-UFC Champion Gets UFC Hall of Fame Nod During Chimaev vs. Strickland Broadcast

"The All American" will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

(Zuffa LLC)

One of the greatest middleweight champions in UFC history is officially headed to the UFC Hall of Fame.

The eyes of the MMA world are centered on Newark, NJ tonight for UFC 328, which is headlined by a middleweight title bout between undefeated champion Khamzat Chimaev and the division’s former titleholder Sean Strickland.

UFC Flyweight Champion Joshua Van will also kick off his title reign in the co-main event against Tatsuro Taira, but it was a former UFC champion who was in attendance at the Prudential Center that was given the spotlight following the main card’s opening fight.

Chris Weidman Announced as UFC Hall of Fame Inductee During UFC 328

Immediately after King Green submitted Jeremy Stephens in a battle between longtime UFC veterans, the broadcast announced that former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

ALL HEART ALL THE TIME 🇺🇸

Congratulations to “The All-American”, @ChrisWeidman on joining the Modern Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame!! pic.twitter.com/TNaV2CgRqA

— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2026

Weidman joined the UFC with a perfect 4-0 record in 2011, and five victories in as many Octagon appearances were enough for him to earn a title shot against reigning middleweight king Anderson Silva at UFC 162.

After knocking out Silva to claim the middleweight belt, Weidman met the Brazilian in an immediate rematch later that year that saw “The Spider” suffer a gruesome leg break just over a minute into the second round. Weidman went on to defend his title two more times against Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort before he was stopped by Luke Rockhold at UFC 194.

Chris Weidman (red gloves) and Anderson Silva (blue gloves) fight during their UFC middleweight championship bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The loss to Rockhold kicked off a three-fight losing streak for Weidman before he submitted Kelvin Gastelum. Another two-fight skid was halted by a unanimous decision over Omari Akhmedov, but a 2021 rematch with Uriah Hall saw “The All-American” suffer a leg injury that was eerily reminiscent of the one Silva sustained in their second meeting at UFC 168.

Chris Weidman (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Bruno Silva (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at Boardwalk Hall. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Weidman eventually returned to action and dropped a decision to Brad Tavares before taking a controversial victory over Bruno Silva in what turned out to be his last UFC win. The 41-year-old retired from MMA after being stopped by Eryk Anders at UFC 310, but he’s scheduled to meet Colby Covington in a wrestling match at RAF 9 on May 30.