The UFC middleweight division obviously got quite the shakeup when monstrous underdog Michael Bisping knocked out -1000 favorite Luke Rockhold (highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Bisping said that he was understandably going to enjoy the belt that had taken him 10 years to finally get around his waist, but also revealed that he would perhaps ‘knock out’ a few other challengers before granting a trilogy match to Rockhold, who previously submitted him in late 2014.
Rockhold was originally supposed to face former champion Chris Weidman in a rematch of their UFC 194 bout, but a significant neck injury to Weidman opened up an opportunity for Bisping to win the biggest fight of his career. A fight against top contender Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza would obviously make sense for Bisping, but a bout with Weidman, who is hopefully targeting a return at November’s UFC 205 in his home state of New York, might be a bout that’s too big to pass up.
And as expected, Weidman had some conflicting opinions about the fight tonight. First, he apologized for everyone for supposedly ‘creating’ the ‘cocky bastard’ that Rockhold had become:
I created this cocky bastard. All my fault. Sorry to everyone who has to see this. It will be short lived.
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) June 5, 2016
Then, after Bisping shockingly knocked out Rockhold in the first round, Weidman was quick to note that cockiness was ultimately Rockhold’s downfall:
Wow cockiness gets kicked in the ass
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) June 5, 2016
Weidman was soon overcome with uncertainty, however, as he revealed he didn’t know what to think about the surprising situation:
Don’t know how to feel right now.
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) June 5, 2016
Finally, Weidman came to his senses and congratulated Bisping in a bit of a back-handed way, adding that “The Count” would “hand him” his former title back at Madison Square Garden in November:
Mann… Congrats to Bisping. I’ll be waiting in MSG for you to hand me over that belt. Good job.
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) June 5, 2016
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