After Chris Weidman’s smashing defeat of Vitor Belfort on Saturday night, only one fight makes sense.
Luke Rockhold, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, is in the middle of a four-fight winning streak. After losing to Belfort (the old TRT-fueled version, not the mortal one) in May 2013, Rockhold has scored wins over Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Michael Bisping and Lyoto Machida. And Rockhold didn’t just beat the four men; he finished all of them. He beat Philippou by TKO and then submitted Boetsch, Bisping and Machida.
Of the four, the Machida win was the most impressive. Machida is far removed from the man who famously began “the Machida era” back in 2009, but he has long been one of the UFC’s trickiest and best competitors. No opponent has ever truly handled Machida, and yet Rockhold dominated him from start to finish.
It seems like a no-brainer, right?
Apparently not.
On the Fox Sports 1 post-fight show after the conclusion of UFC 187, Dana White was asked about Weidman’s next opponent. Surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly), White hedged his bets.
“Luke Rockhold had me cornered on my way here and said he’s ready and wants the fight,” White said. “He’s first in line. But Jacare’s manager said he was ready to go. We’ll see.”
But? In this situation, there should be no buts. And in speaking with the UFC’s Megan Olivi later in the night, White seemingly leaned towards Souza.
So Jacare‘s manager hit me right after the fight and said, ‘We’re ready for Chris Weidman,’ so it’ll probably be Jacare vs. Weidman next. I don’t know. Anything can happen. We’ll see how this thing plays out. Luke Rockhold is obviously the No. 1 contender. We’ll see what happens.
Rockhold is the clear and deserving top contender. His record speaks for itself. He’s marketable and knows how to sell a fight. A fight against Weidman would feature the UFC’s current top two middleweights. Both are young and athletic and just plain great at fighting. And Rockhold has the tools—especially in the striking department—to make things interesting against Weidman.
Rockhold also has a win over Souza. Sure, it happened back in 2011, but a win is a win, no matter how much time Souza spends attempting to discount it.
And then there’s the natural East coast vs. West coast rivalry. We do not yet know if mixed martial arts will be legalized in New York this year; things are looking good, but things have looked good in the past and then completely fallen through. But if the UFC is able to run a show in Madison Square Garden later this year, a bout between local-boy Weidman and the cocky California surfer would be a natural fit.
Rockhold, speaking to MMAjunkie.com after the event, doesn’t seem to understand White’s hesitance, either.
I don’t know what the hell they’re doing, but it’s guaranteed that that’s my shot. It’s happening. There will be a date locked down soon. We’re fighting. I talked to Dana, and we got some things coming.
Another strange thing: Souza recently underwent surgery to repair a left meniscus injury suffered in his April 13 win over Chris Camozzi. It’s been a little more than a month since that surgery took place, so I’m not sure how Souza’s camp can say he’s more ready for Weidman than Rockhold, who fought the same night and came out unscathed.
Rockhold wants to face Weidman in Madison Square Garden, and I understand why. That’s a bankable fight, it will be a huge event and competing in the main event of the UFC’s first major show at MSG is something that will be remembered for years to come. If Rockhold is insistent on waiting until that date to fight Weidman, and if Weidman wants to fight sooner, then I can understand the idea of going with Souza first.
But I cannot imagine Rockhold turning down an offered title shot in, say, September. He wants the title fight next, and if that’s the date the UFC insists on, I’ll be shocked if he does anything but accept the fight.
And if Rockhold is willing to face Weidman whenever the champ is ready, there is absolutely no reason to even consider Souza. Weidman vs. Rockhold is a better fight, and it is a more sellable fight.
We can only hope that whatever is causing White to hesitate before naming Rockhold the top contender is settled soon, because anything other than Weidman vs. Rockhold is just plain dumb.
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