The former middleweight champion is treating his rematch with Luke Rockhold as if his career is on the line.
The stakes are high for Chris Weidman at UFC 199. So high, in fact, that ‘All-American’ believes it is “do or die” when the cage door closes on June 4th.
Weidman, who shocked the world when he dethroned Anderson Silva in 2013, got his first taste of defeat in the Octagon when Luke Rockhold brutalised him in the 3rd and 4th rounds at UFC 194. The former Strikeforce champion became a two-promotion king when he TKO’d Weidman in the co-main event.
The two middleweights jibed back-and-forth at the ‘Unstoppable’ press conference earlier this month and Weidman believes he must dominate Rockhold in the rematch to erase any doubts stemming from the first fight.
“This is a do or die fight for me,” Weidman said in a recent interview with Inside MMA (h/t Brad Popkin of MMA Mania). “I have to go out there and dominate him. This is my career on the line. This is everything. This is bigger than my Anderson Silva fights. I’m already starting my camp. I did a six-week camp last time and now I’m doing a 12-week camp this time. I’m just going to be very prepared.”
The Serra-Longo product had stood toe-to-toe with Rockhold before throwing a missed spinning back kick in the 3rd round. The AKA fighter immediately capitalized on the mistake and manhandled Weidman from full mount with ground-and-pound. Referee Herb Dean eventually called a stop to the contest in the following round when Rockhold continued the onslaught.
The rematch will take place at UFC 199 — co-headlined by a bantamweight championship tilt between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber — on June 4th at The Forum in Inglewood, California.