Chris Weidman out at UFC 155, Constantinos Philippou now fights Tim Boetsch (updated)
by Matt Erickson on Nov 21, 2012 at 1:30 pm ET
Less than five weeks before what could have been the biggest fight of his career, UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is out of a UFC 155 bout against Tim Boetsch (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC).

Stepping in for him will be teammate Constantinos Philippou (10-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who this past Saturday had a planned bout scrapped the day of the fight. MMAjunkie.com on Wednesday confirmed the news with sources close to the promotion. Newsday first reported the development, and UFC officials followed up with their own confirmation.

UFC 155 takes place Dec. 29 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and features a heavyweight title rematch between Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.

The Weidman-Boetsch fight was set for the main card on pay-per-view. The new bout between Philippou and Boetsch also is expected to take a position on the main card along with the main event, a co-feature between Forrest Griffin, a lightweight fight between Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon and a middleweight bout between Yushin Okami and Alan Belcher.

Weidman will be sidelined with what he told MMAjunkie.com is a torn labrum and possible shoulder separation. He said the injury may require surgery. But the unbeaten middleweight has been through plenty more, as well, in recent weeks thanks to the effects of Superstorm Sandy.

Weidman is coming off a devastating "Knockout of the Night" performance against Mark Munoz in July that had many talking about him bolting to the front of the line for a potential title shot with champion Anderson Silva. A win over Boetsch would have further propelled that talk, even as Silva campaigns for a superfight against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in 2013.

Philippou was slated to fight Nick Ring this past Saturday at UFC 154 on the main card in Montreal. But on the morning of the fight, Ring fell ill and was ruled out of the bout, leaving Philippou out in the cold. Now he'll at least get an upcoming fight, and one on the main card, as well. He's won four straight since losing his UFC debut, including a unanimous decision win over Riki Fukuda at UFC 148 in July.

Boetsch has a four-fight win streak, as well, all since dropping from light heavyweight to middleweight. In February, he came from behind to stun Yushin Okami in the third round at UFC 144, and in July at UFC 149, he upset former Bellator champ Hector Lombard by split decision.

(UPDATED on 11/21/12 at 2:45 p.m. ET. Weidman confirmed to MMAjunkie.com that his injury is a torn labrum with a possible shoulder separation, and surgery may be necessary. The original report did not state the nature of the injury.)