An highly-intriguing rematch between former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champions is in the works for UFC 230, as Luke Rockhold vs Chris Weidman is being targeted for the pay-per-view (PPV) event on Nov. 3, 2018 in New York.
That’s according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who revealed the promotion is keen on bringing the do-over for its return to Madison Square Garden.
Huge middleweight rematch between Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) and Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) in the works for UFC 230 in NY, per multiple sources. https://t.co/zo2gnMCgpw pic.twitter.com/AKKAHXcqhW
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 23, 2018
The two initially met way back in 2015 in the co-main event of UFC 194 in what proved to be one of Luke’s brightest moments with the promotion. After three rounds of action, Rockhold turned up the juice in the championship rounds, taking it to “All American” by busting him up from ear to ear before putting on the finishing touches in the fourth round.
The loss ended Weidman’s run as the 185-pound champion after three successful title defenses, and marked the beginning of a horrible three-fight losing streak. For Luke, it was his first taste of gold since his glory days as Strikeforce champion.
They were set to run it back in an immediate rematch at UFC 199, but Weidman was ultimately forced out of the event with an injury. As a result, Michael Bisping stepped in on short notice and shocked the world by dethroning Rockhold via first round knockout (see it).
Weidman was last seen getting back into the win column against Kelvin Gastelum a year ago, but hasn’t competed since due to nagging thumb injury that prompted multiple surgeries. As for Rockhold, he was last seen getting his clock cleaned by Yoel Romero at UFC 221 earlier this year.
The matchup will go a long way in determining who will earn consideration to compete for the 185-pound strap one more time, after current champion Robert Whittaker and the aforementioned Kelvin Gastelum do the dance early next year.
Early predictions?