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Chris Weidman to fight Luke Rockhold at UFC 199

After losing the UFC Middleweight Title to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194 in December, Chris Weidman will get his rematch. Katie Nolan was the first to announce the “#SCOOP” from UFC President Dana White. The announcement was made on February 3rd during her “Garbage Time” show on Fox Sports 1.

httpss://twitter.com/GarbageTime/status/695035561564729345

As the tweet stated, the rematch will be at UFC 199 in June. Weidman is looking to win back the title after Rockhold defeated him via TKO. The fight between the two was as hard-hitting as it could get. The Long Island native put up a valiant effort, but Luke managed to outlast Weidman with his speed. Rockhold’s ground and pound style was very effective in the third round. By the fourth, Rockhold’s vicious strikes were enough to seal the deal.

It appears that Weidman has been looking for a rematch since early January. Rockhold hinted that Weidman was working his way for a shot at the title. In an interview with FoxSports.com, the champion stated:

“He’s (Weidman’s) been harassing Dana (White) from what I understand since the day after the fight and I’m not opposed to giving him what he wants if he really likes it.”

It is not a surprising request, as Weidman was a dominating champion before UFC 194. He had three successful title fights after defeating Anderson Silva at UFC 168 in 2013.

Rockhold was open for the rematch, which would be a perfect chance to show his win wasn’t a fluke. I’m sure he would not back down from a chance to defeat a former champion. In the same FoxSports.com interview, Rockhold stated in regards to accepting Weidman’s challenge:

“100 percent, I’m fine with that. I don’t need extra motivation. Someone’s coming for me from the other side of the world, other side of the country, wherever they’re at — they’re coming to take what I’ve earned, my spot, something I’ve worked for my whole life, it’s more motivation for me.”

The road to UFC 200 is upon us. UFC 199, a fight between two rivals for a coveted prize, would be the perfect way to lead us to it. If the fight is anything like UFC 194, we are in for one heck of a ride.

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Baseball Editor, Misc. Sports Editor. Covers all things combat sports (MMA, Pro Wrestling and Boxing). When he's not writing, Daniel hosts a podcast, The Main Event.
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