Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will make his Light heavyweight debut this Saturday (July 6, 2019) when he faces off against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It’s a part of Luke’s quest to face off against current 205-pound champion, Jon Jones.
But before he gets there, not only does he have to score a win over Jan, but he will likely run into an old foe, as Chris Weidman is also climbing up to Light Heavyweight, and also has his eyes on “Bones.”
So the chances of Luke and Chris running it back before any of them get a shot at the title is very likely, and “All American” is all for it.
“That’s definitely on the agenda,” Weidman said to TMZ (via MMA Junkie) regarding a Rockhold rematch. “I don’t know if that would be my first fight or not, but I think your first loss definitely hurts the most. To have the opportunity to get that one back is definitely something I want to do.”
Rockhold dethroned Chris from the top of the 185-pound mountain at UFC 194, as Luke handed him his first-ever loss by knocking him out in round number four. And while Weidman is all for getting his first loss back, the big prize is still Jones.
“I’ve got to fight some other guys first, but at some point, that’s the goal,” Weidman said. “When I was at 185, the goal was to hold the belt at 185 for as long as I could, then go up to 205 and win the belt over there. It didn’t work according to my plan perfectly. But now I’m at 205, and I definitely think I have the tools to beat (Jones).”
Chris has had a rough go as of late at 185 pounds, losing four of five, getting knocked out in all of his defeats. Still, while Weidman doesn’t expect to be in immediate title contention, the contenders are running thin for Jones so getting into contention might not be a long wait for Chris.
Of course, Thiago Santos is ready to shock the world this Saturday in “Sin City,” which will lead to a new direction for the Light Heavyweight division if he can pull off the upset.