Over the last 10 days or so, I unplugged from the MMA world. I went to Tennessee and spent time deep in the woods in the middle of nowhere, where cellphone service was only an idea and not a thing that actually worked. And then I went to Gettysburg, touring the battlefields and absorbing history while remaining as disconnected as possible from MMA news.
Breaks are good, both for the brain and the soul.
I returned Wednesday night with the intention of catching up on everything I’d missed. There was a lot. But one thing really caught my eye: Even in its earliest stages, December’s UFC 194 card is already awesome.
The UFC’s new policy of stacking multiple title fights whenever possible, in order to guard against injury and—if everybody makes it to fight night—create highly anticipated supercards, is sublime. UFC 194 is the perfect example, and I am furiously knocking on wood in the hopes that the top three fights scheduled for the card actually happen.
First, there’s the main event. Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor is one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history. You know the story: It was scheduled for July, but Aldo pulled out with a broken rib, and then McGregor ended up facing Chad Mendes for an interim championship. The UFC rolled the dice by putting Mendes in the Octagon with McGregor; prior to that night, Mendes’ only career losses had come against Aldo, and he had had a mostly easy time with his other opponents.
But the gamble paid off. McGregor won, and what was already a big fight became an even bigger one. I fully expect more than 1 million people to purchase the pay-per-view, and chances are they’ll be doing so to see this fight.
But I’ll be honest with you: While I’m looking forward to the main event, my most anticipated fight is Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold for the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Weidman has steamrolled through everyone since winning the middleweight title in his first shocking win over Anderson Silva in July 2013. He defended the belt against Silva, defeated a good version of Lyoto Machida and then beat the brakes off Vitor Belfort. He is clearly one of the best fighters in the world, and he’s coming into his own as a personality, as well.
But he may have met his match. Rockhold is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the sport, and he appears to be getting better each time out. His only loss since 2007 came at the hands of a Belfort who appeared to be wholly aided by performance-enhancing drugs.
Rockhold has won four fights in a row. He beat Machida more emphatically than Weidman did. In short, this feels like Rockhold’s time to shine.
But that’s the beauty of this fight. These are two evenly matched fighters in every respect. Weidman’s wrestling is a game-changer, but Rockhold is a very good MMA wrestler as well. It’s nearly impossible to look at this fight and think that one man has a significant edge over the other in any area of the sport.
There’s also a bit of a grudge beginning to form. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Weidman fired the first shot.
“I think he’s just insecure and I think he knows what’s coming. I think he’d much rather be fighting anyone else but me,” he said.
Rockhold responded in kind during an interview with MMA Fighting.
“I just don’t know what the hell’s going on in his head,” he said. “I don’t know if he’s psychologically convinced himself that we’re scared of him or something, but he’s not on the right page. I feel like he’s in for a rude awakening.”
By the time December 12 rolls around, things between Weidman and Rockhold should be at a fever pitch. There’s little doubt that the fight will deliver the kind of action we’re expecting to see.
And the UFC has issued itself an insurance policy by booking a bout between top middleweight contenders Yoel Romero and Ronaldo Souza on the same card—just in case, God forbid, Weidman or Rockhold gets hurt.
The thing about Weidman vs. Rockhold is that it’s a deep cut. That’s a music term to describe a song on an album that true fans of a band will enjoy. The masses will tune in for Aldo vs. McGregor, and rightly so. But mixed martial arts devotees might just look at Weidman vs. Rockhold and decide that, hey, that’s the UFC 194 fight they’re really looking forward to the most.
It’s a perfect fight, and it is a chance to see the two best middleweights in the world square off for a championship.
It might only be the co-main event on the night, but it can’t be overlooked.
Jeremy Botter covers mixed martial arts for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com