UFC NEWS: Undefeated prospect Chris Weidman replaces injured Rafael Natal against Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 3

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC has found a replacement for Rafael Natal against Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 3, as Heavy.com reports that undefeated prospect Chris Weidman has signed with the UFC to take the fight.

Weidman, a New Yorker fighting out of Team Serra-Longo, is a 4-0 fighter with three first round stoppages heading into his UFC debut.

He's taking a big leap in competition into this bout with Sakara, who enters the Octagon for the first time since March of 2010. Sakara was set to return twice three separate times in 2010, but a combination of injuries, illness and the death of his father forced him out of all three bookings.

The most recent came when an illness forced him out of a bout with Jorge Rivera on the day of their fight at UFC 122 in Germany. Sakara is on a three fight winning streak heading into this bout.

UFC on Versus 3 takes place on March 3, headlined by a welterweight bout between Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann in Louisville.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: Weidman is a big-time prospect and very well could compete at a high level off the bat in this UFC debut. That said, this is a huge leap in competition for him, and will be by far the toughest opponent of his career. Sakara is a longtime veteran who has been in a lot of battles in the UFC. He's put together a nice three-fight run, but he hasn't been very active over the last couple of years, and that inactivity could have a negative affect on him in the fight. Still, even though he's the third opponent for this fight with injuries taking the others out, Weidman should be up to the task in this big opportunity. This should be a fun fight.

Siyar Bahadurzada Bao Ligao  Josh Barnett  David Baron  Phil Baroni