Knee surgery the smart decision for UFC champ Chris Weidman

Newsday—March 28, 2014

On the flight upward, his left knee started to lock. Upon landing on the mat at his gym to complete the jump squat, his troublesome knee joint was completely locked.

In the quarter-hour it took for his knee to pop back in, that's when UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman knew it was time to get the surgery he had been pushing off for a long time.

"If this happens in a fight, I'm out," Weidman told Newsday on Friday. "Or right before fight, I'm not going to be able to train."

That was the second time in a week that his knee locked up because of the meniscus, Weidman said. And that's the one that forced him on Monday to pull out of his title defense at UFC 173 against Lyoto Machida on Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas. That bout has been rescheduled for Fourth of July weekend at UFC 175 in Las Vegas. The UFC announced Friday that Renao Barao will defend his bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw in the new main event at UFC 173.

Weidman will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in both his left and right knees. Dr. Answorth Allen, the same doctor who repaired his labrum at the end of 2012, will perform the procedure at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Read the full story at Newsday.com.