Weidman (photo via UFC.com)

By FCF Staff

Chris Weidman underwent surgery to repair the injured shoulder which pulled him from a December 29th, UFC 155 bout with Tim Boetsch, and the middleweight contender is hoping to return sometime in early 2013.

Speaking via his official Twitter account, the decorated wrestler posted:

Off to get surgery today.Excited to get this over with and get rehabbing and come back stronger then ever.Thanks for the support

I’m told ill be at 100 percent at 4 months if everything goes smoothly.

The 28 year-old Weidman (9-0) is coming off a one sided, second round knockout of Mark Munoz in July, after working his way to a unanimous decision win over Demian Maia in January.

After he stopped Munoz, UFC President Dana White announced that Weidman had moved to the front of the line in the middleweight title shot picture. Middleweight champion Anderson Silva and his camp, however, have expressed doubts as to whether the up-and-coming fighter could produce a top selling bout at this juncture.

The Serra-Longo Fight Team member has gone 5-0 to date in the Octagon.