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For Chris Weidman of Baldwin, New York, fighting in the UFCs maiden Madison Square Garden card always appeared to be a shoe-in. However, the neck injury he sustained earlier this year made it a long shot.If I would have done the fusion, the chances of me fighting in New York would have been really tough, Weidman told ESPN.com regarding some initial recommendations by physicians. It would have been really pushing it.On May 17, Weidman (13-1) was removed from a middleweight title rematch with Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 due to a cervical disk herniation. After undergoing an MRI, Weidman met with three different doctors, all of whom suggested fusion surgery to repair the injury. Facing a serious procedure with a prolonged recovery time, Weidman decided to educate himself and get different opinions because neck [surgery] is a scary surgery.Two opinions that provided hope for Weidman came from UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Both former standout wrestlers recommended that Weidman meet with Dr. Hae Dong Jho in Pittsburgh, who developed a non-invasive surgery with a shorter recovery time.Five days after the man who replaced him at UFC 199, Michael Bisping, captured the belt in an upset, Weidman underwent surgery in New York with Dr. K. Daniel Riew. Two weeks after the surgery, the former champ felt like I could do everything again. After six weeks, he was back to full training. A few months later -- with a neck thats feeling great -- The All-American set his sights toward a spot in the first card at the worlds most famous arena.For one of the preeminent faces of New York MMA -- a man whose hometown held a day in his honor for beating Anderson Silva -- Weidman will get his chance to fight in front of his local fans against Yoel Romero (11-1). Gone are the days of 3-hour-plus drives to Atlantic City, where Weidman made his debut with Ring of Combat. Now, Weidmans local fans can take the Long Island Rail Road directly to MSG.Weidman was part of the UFCs campaign to get the sport legalized, and when the vote passed the legislature via a 113-25 margin on March 22, he told WICZ-Binghamton it was a dream come true. Now, nearly eight months later, Weidman is ready to make the walk.I dont really feel extra nervous that its in New York, Weidman said. I put a lot of pressure on myself just to go out there and dominate and separate myself from the guy Im standing across from. I dont think you can put more pressure on yourself than that.Romero is an Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling, and this battle between the third- (Weidman) and fourth-ranked (Romero) middleweights, according to ESPN.com, offers an interesting test to see which fighters wrestling skills translate better inside the cage.According to FightMetric, Weidman completes nearly double the amount of takedowns (3.52-to-1.85) as Romero, and at a much higher percentage (55-35). Weidman edges Romero in takedown defense percentage as well (81-75). It will be both fighters first bouts since last Decembers UFC 194. While Weidman lost his championship belt to Rockhold via fourth-round TKO, Romero defeated Ronaldo Jacare Souza by split decision for his seventh consecutive victory.A month later, Romero was flagged for a potential violation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Facing up to a two-year ban, the 39-year-old claimed the positive test was due to a contaminated supplement he was taking. USADA independently confirmed the claim, which led to the two sides agreeing to a reduced six-month suspension. Despite Romero getting cleared, Weidman still has his suspicions about his opponent this Saturday.Theres such gray area in there where you can set it up to where you look innocent. Anybody who fails a drug test, in my eyes, you failed a drug test -- thats on you, and youve got to live with that, Weidman said. Im just hoping that USADA is drug testing him. If he is taking stuff, I hope hes crapping his pants that USADA is going to hopefully catch on to whatever theyre all taking.This fight isnt necessarily a No. 1 contenders bout; however, the pathway to a title shot became easier when Rockhold pulled out of his Nov. 26 fight against Souza with a knee injury. Other top middleweights are in action later this month, too. Gegard Mousasi, ranked sixth according to ESPN.com, looks to avenge a loss to Uriah Hall on Nov. 19. Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson, ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, square off on the 26th in Australia.The current champ Bisping has already told SiriusXM Rush he wouldnt want to fight Romero if victorious due to the positive drug test.As for the former champ Weidman, hes only looking to control whats ahead of him.I think good things happen if I just go out there and do what I feel like I can do against Romero, Weidman said. I cant waste my time thinking about different scenarios and if its unfair or not unfair. Im not at that point right now where I could do that. Im just focused on the camp, Im focused on Romero, thats it.Thatcher Szalay . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Chuck Sieminski . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/tyrone-calico-jersey-for-sale/ . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Jason Spriggs . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Roy Ruskusky . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action.LANDOVER, Md. -- More than a year has passed since the Carolina Panthers crushed the Washington Redskins to remain undefeated on their way to the Super Bowl, and, oh, how things have changed.All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman signed with the Redskins after the Panthers removed the franchise tag to make him a free agent.While Carolinas younger defense and quarterback Cam Newton have struggled and failed to meet expectations, Washington (7-5-1) remains in the NFC wild-card hunt with three games to go.These arent the same Panthers (5-8) who beat the Redskins 44-16 in November 2015, but theyre still a formidable group in the way of Kirk Cousins and Co. returning to the playoffs.A lot of the same players are back, so were going to have our hands full, said Cousins, who needs 122 yards to break his single-season franchise passing record from last year.I remember we had five turnovers and if we turn the ball over again we can expect a similar result. Weve got to protect the football and if we do that, weve got a chance, but if we turn it over, well put ourselves in a hole just like we did last year.Without Norman, Carolina starts two rookie cornerbacks in James Bradberry and Daryl Worley. But Charles Johnson, Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short are still there on the Panthers defensive line and can rush Cousins, who has 23 touchdowns to nine interceptions this season.The Redskins offense hasnt been the problem. Ricky Jean Francois said the defense, which has struggled on third down and in the red zone, is aiming to do two things: Win and stop Cam Newton.Last years NFL MVP is banged up and struggling, but Washington doesnt see him as a hobbled star or the Panthers as a hobbled team.I understand what their record is, but thats still a team at any given time that can still come out and become the Carolina they once were last year with the quarterback they have, Jean Francois said.And they got a great head coach so I know hes pushing those guys up front to keep being the team that they are -- not the team they are now but the team he knows theyre capable of being.---Some things to watch when the Panthers visit the Redskins on Monday night:SACK ATTACK: The Panthers dont have anyone in double digits in sacks this season, but still lead the NFL in that category with 39. Eighteen different players have been in on a sack this season for the Panthers, led by situational pass rusher Mario Addison with 7+.Its never one thing, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said of the teams rise up the leaderboard iin sacks.ddddddddddddI know sometimes you guys want me to say, `Well, its just this. Here was the magic deal. No, its working hard. Its earning the right to be good.We got off to maybe a slow start in that (sacks) category. But the guys have worked extremely hard. The coaches have worked extremely hard to get it to where it is right now.NORMAN FIRED UP: Redskins coach Jay Gruden believes Norman gets up for every game, but this one against his former team will have some extra juice.Norman said he almost felt stabbed in the back when the Panthers removed the franchise tag. I think come Monday night, those emotions I think they will probably come out and show themselves, Norman said.BENJAMIN EXPECTS TRASH TALK: Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin anticipates he will be matched up against Norman for most of the game and expects to hear plenty of trash talk from his former teammate.Oh yeah, I know he will talk trash, Benjamin said with a wide smile. Im looking forward to it. Norman and Benjamin exchanged trash talk when the two practiced against each other, but said he never let the cornerback get in his head.Not at all, actually, Benjamin said with a smile. I would probably say I used to get in Joshs head more than he got in mine. I just came in with an attitude (my rookie year) to compete.SO MUCH FOR MVP: Newton has struggled with accuracy all season and has completed just 43 percent of his passes over his past four games with no more than 14 completions in any of those matchups. Newton is completing 53.5 percent of his passes for the season, the worst mark among starting quarterbacks in the NFL.Newton said Wednesday that he couldnt care less about his completion percentage and his only concern is wins and losses.SPAIGHTS SPOTLIGHT: With middle linebacker Will Compton injured, Martrell Spaight could make his first pro start for the Redskins. Spaight filled in for Compton in a victory at the Philadelphia Eagles and will be given the headset and the controls to the defense against Carolina.Hes a young football player still with limited starting reps, but this is a great opportunity for him, Gruden said. Well see what he can do. We have a good feeling of what he can do. We know he can play the run, hes very physical.---AP Sports Writer Steve Reed in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '