Luke Rockhold believes Chris Weidman has been acting out of character since his devastating loss at UFC 194 and feels it won’t bode well him in the rematch.
Chris Weidman was devastated after losing his middleweight title to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194 last year. The 31-year-old was seen crying immediately after the loss but made an Instagram post assuring fans that he was OK.
Weidman was booked to face Rockhold in an immediate rematch after former #1 middleweight contender Yoel Romero failed an out-of-compeition drug test. “Soldier of God” was expected to challenge Rockhold for the belt but has been removed from the UFC rankings since his anti-doping violation.
Although Weidman claims to have recovered from UFC 194 and vowed to avenge his loss to Rockhold at the UFC’s ‘Unstoppable’ press conference, the current 185-pound champion feels “All-American” acted emotionally on-stage.
“Obviously not having the belt has got to him” Rockhold told reporters at a recent EA Sports media event (h/t MMA Junkie.com). “I don’t know where he’s coming from, he’s just really emotional – maybe he’s on his period or something. … He doesn’t look like himself. We’ll see if this emotion helps him. But to my knowledge emotion doesn’t help you fight.
“He better check himself or this fight’s going to be over a lot sooner than he expects, maybe than even I expect. I don’t feel threatened by Chris. I really don’t see what he’s going to bring to the table to blow me away. … He’s a great fighter, but I’m the best.”
Rockhold, whose only UFC defeat comes to Vitor Belfort in his debut, believes we’ll see a more urgent, precise fighter at UFC 199. The two middleweights went toe-to-toe in December until the American Kickboxing Academy product scored a takedown and began to takeover at the end of the third round.
“I think you’re going to see a different fight,” Rockhold said. “It’s going to be quick, it’s going to be fast, it’s going to be precise and I’m going to go in there and execute”
Rockhold vs. Weidman II is expected to headline the UFC 199 pay-per-view at The Forum in Inglewood, California on June 4th.