''UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 25'') was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

held on July 22, 2017, at the

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, a ...

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in central Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, within the New York metropolitan area. The population was 32,473 at the time of the 2020 United States census ...

Background

The event was the first that the UFC has hosted on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion

Chris Weidman Christopher James Weidman (born June 17, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. An accomplis ...

and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum earned a contract with the UFC after winning '' The ...

. A featherweight bout between former

UFC Featherweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challengers

Ricardo Lamas Ricardo Lamas (born May 21, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Lamas' father is Cuban and his mother is Mexican. The flags of th ...

and

Chan Sung Jung Jung Chan-sung (; born March 17, 1987), anglicized as Chan Sung Jung and better known by his ring name The Korean Zombie, is a South Korean former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

was originally in the works to headline or co-headline this event. The pairing was originally slated to take place in July 2013 at

UFC 162 ''UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman'' was a mixed martial arts event on July 6, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between long time title holder Anderson Silva an ...

, but Jung was pulled from the bout in favor of a title fight against then champion

José Aldo José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior (; born 9 September 1986), known as José Aldo, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate F ...

UFC 163 ''UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 3, 2013, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The main event was expected to feature current UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo taking on fut ...

. On May 12, the bout was confirmed for

UFC 214 ''UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on July 29, 2017, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A PPV event was initially planned for Anaheim on Ja ...

. A light heavyweight bout between

Gian Villante Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for Strikeforce ...

and Patrick Cummins was originally booked for UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov in December 2016. However, Cummins pulled out a week before the event due to a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasi ...

. The fight eventually took place at this event. A heavyweight bout between Christian Colombo and

Damian Grabowski Damian Grabowski (born May 12, 1980) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A professional since 2007, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), Fight Exclusive Night and M-1 Global. ...

was expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira. However, the pairing was scrapped as both fighters sustained injuries in the weeks leading up to the event. The fight was rescheduled to take place at this event. Subsequently, Colombo was removed from the fight on June 22 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by

Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Ibervi ...

. Alessio Di Chirico was expected to face

Rafael Natal Rafael Natal Diniz Franca () is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2017, he is best known for his 17-fight stint competing for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Background Natal started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ...

, but pulled out in the weeks leading up to the event due to a neck injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer

Eryk Anders Eryk Anders (born April 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former American football linebacker. He competes in the Middleweight division of the UFC. He played college football at the University of Alabama. Early lif ...

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Lyman Good *Performance of the Night: Alex Oliveira and Júnior Albini

References

Fox UFC Mixed martial arts in New York (state) Sports in Long Island 2017 in sports in New York (state) 2017 in mixed martial arts July 2017 sports events in the United States Events in Uniondale, New York Events on Long Island {{mixedmartialart-stub

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References