Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor won’t be the only title fight at UFC 194.
Chris Weidman will defend his middleweight belt against Luke Rockhold in the co-main event of the huge card Dec. 12 in Las Vegas, it was announced Thursday on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
SportsCenter also had Weidman on the phone to promote the fight.
“He’s not great anywhere,” the champ said. “I’m taking him very serious and I’m gonna be ready for the best Luke Rockhold we’ve seen. And I’m gonna take him out quick.”
The undefeated Weidman (13-0) is coming off a first-round TKO win over Vitor Belfort at UFC 187 in May. In his career, he has defeated Anderson Silva twice and also has a victory over Lyoto Machida. The 31-year-old Long Island native has held the belt since July 2013.
Rockhold (14-2) has won four in a row, the latest a second-round submission of Machida at UFC on FOX 15 back in April. The California native also owns wins over Michael Bisping, Ronaldo Souza and Tim Kennedy. Rockhold, 30, is the former Strikeforce middleweight champion.
UFC 194 will be headlined, of course, by the highly anticipated fight between Aldo and McGregor. No other fights have been announced for the card. The event will take place at MGM Grand Garden Arena.