Chris Weidman vs. Gegard Mousasi slated for UFC 210

After spending weeks calling out everyone in the upper echelon of the middleweight division, Gegard Mousasi finally has himself a fight. Mousasi will take on former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman on April 8 at UFC 210 in Weidman’s home state of New York.

The UFC confirmed the booking on Thursday following an initial report by Newsday.

Weidman (13-2) returns to action for the first time since suffering a devastating third-round knockout loss to Yoel Romero at the UFC’s first foray into Madison Square Garden at UFC 205. That loss followed a nasty TKO defeat at the hands of Luke Rockhold. Weidman will now look to snap the first losing streak of his fighting career.

“Once I heard he was calling me out, I said let’s give this guy what he wants,” Weidman told Newsday. “Now I’m going to throw this guy a beating.”

It wasn’t long ago that Weidman was considered to be the class of the middleweight division. The 32-year-old American kicked off his UFC career with an undefeated nine-fight win streak that included a pair of KO/TKO victories over legendary champion Anderson Silva plus two title defenses over Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort.

But to get back on track, Weidman will first have to get by Mousasi (41-6-2), a former Strikeforce and DREAM champion who looks like a man reborn after a flawless 4-0 campaign in 2016 that saw the 31-year-old cruise through victories over Thales Leites, Thiago Santos, Vitor Belfort, and Uriah Hall.

Mousasi is currently the No. 5 ranked middleweight on the UFC’s media-generated rankings, and for him, the showdown against Weidman carries extra importance, as it marks the final bout of Mousasi’s UFC contract. With a win, “The Dreamcatcher” could ride into free agency with a massive wave of momentum at his back.

UFC 210 takes place at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. As of this writing, Weidman vs. Mousasi is the event’s only scheduled fight.