After former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman withdrew from his UFC 199 title fight with Luke Rockhold due to a neck injury, there was much speculation as to whether Jacare Souza or Michael Bisping would be given the short-notice fight against Rockhold.

While Jacare was reportedly the UFC’s first choice given his dominant performance against Vitor Belfort at UFC 198 this past weekend, Michael Bisping was given the nod.

Now, Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting is reporting that Jacare will need to undergo knee surgery. Fortunately for the top ranked middleweight, he will likely be able to return to training in 4 weeks, and could fight in 3-4 months.

With Chris Weidman out 8-12 weeks, the UFC may opt to sideline Souza until Weidman’s return, and make the pair fight at the UFC’s inaugural New York event, with the winner getting a middleweight title shot.

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