The time-honored UFC middleweight championship will once again be up for grabs when newly-crowned champion Luke Rockhold meets Michael Bisping in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California. Rockhold and Bisping already have a somewhat infamous history with one another, as a long battle of
The time-honored UFC middleweight championship will once again be up for grabs when newly-crowned champion Luke Rockhold meets Michael Bisping in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Rockhold and Bisping already have a somewhat infamous history with one another, as a long battle of trash talk lead to Rockhold eventually submitting “The Count” in the main event of November 2014’s UFC Fight Night 55 from Sydney, Australia.
The former Strikeforce champion was set to take on Chris Weidman, the man whom he just took the title from at last December’s UFC 194, but a neck injury to Weidman meant Bisping was one of few legitimate choices due to his recent win over all-time great former champion Anderson Silva.
So even though Bisping has already lost to Rockhold, he finally has his title shot, and that means “The Count” is going to run his mouth the way few can in the lead-up to this Saturday night. If that works out, however, it remains to be seen, as few are giving him a shot with recently dominant Rockhold a monstrous favorite.
We’ve seen that anything can happen in MMA, especially in recent months. Get prepared for the middleweight title fight with the full “Countdown to UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping” video right here:
UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is never one lacking for confidence, and most would agree that he probably shouldn’t be heading into his championship rematch against Michael Bisping in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California. Bisping finally got his first UFC title shot when
UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is never one lacking for confidence, and most would agree that he probably shouldn’t be heading into his championship rematch against Michael Bisping in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Bisping finally got his first UFC title shot when former champion Chris Weidman was forced to pull out of his rematch with Rockhold due to a serious neck issue, and the overall belief is that Rockhold will run through ‘The Count’ like he already did once before.
But apparently the champ thinks it will be a tougher fight than his original match-up with Weidman would have been.
During an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour today (Tues., May 31, 2016) Rockhold caught word that Weidman, who had appeared on the show right before him, called his rematch with Bisping “the easiest title fight ever,” he refuted that notion by saying “The Count” is actually a harder fight thanks to his tactical approach:
“I think he mighta been easier. That’s my opinion. I think Bisping’s a little bit funner, you know, it’s more tactical, I’m going to enjoy it more, it’s going to be funner for the fans, where Weidman just kind of fights ugly and fights with his balls, comes forward and might get a little sloppy. I’d pick him off fairly early; I think he overextends. But Bisping, I can play around with him a little more and pick him off, and pick my kill shot. I think they’re both in the same department; I think I’ll finish this fight in similar fashion.”
Rockhold expanded on the viewpoint, stating that Bisping offers more opportunity to look for his shots and make adjustments:
“I like tactical battles, I like outsmarting them, I like adjusting and making my points, where Weidman just kind of fights like an idiot. He just runs forward and exposes himself and kind of overcommits and relies on his toughness, where Bisping tries to make it more tactical, and I enjoy that; that process of finding my shots and out-doing them; outsmarting them and putting them away.”
There’s no doubting that Rockhold’s technical skills have been a sight to behold since he was unceremoniously sent packing by a Vitor Belfort spin kick in his first UFC bout. That loss obviously motivated him to evolve into a new and more polished combatant, as he’s looked nearly untouchable ever since.
And for his first title defense of the vaunted UFC middleweight title, Rockhold is predicting he’ll outsmart Bisping and put him away like no one’s ever seen before. Read on to find out his bold prediction.
UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is at the pinnacle of the fight game heading into his UFC 199 rematch with late replacement Michael Bisping on June 4 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, but he’s looking to make a much, much bigger impact. Rockhold was originally supposed to face former champion Chris Weidman, whom he
UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is at the pinnacle of the fight game heading into his UFC 199 rematch with late replacement Michael Bisping on June 4 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, but he’s looking to make a much, much bigger impact.
Rockhold was originally supposed to face former champion Chris Weidman, whom he ripped the belt from with a brutal fourth-round stoppage at last year’s UFC 194, in an immediate rematch, but a serious neck injury forced the oft-injured Weidman to the sidelines and opened a path for Bisping to finally get a long-awaited title shot that had eluded him in his 10-year UFC career.
Weidman may have seemed motivated to avenge a previous loss that was the first of his career, but when the news came that he was out, Rockhold told Dave Meltzer of MMA Fighting that he wasn’t surprised, as there were reasons available why he would. The champ did note that he knew Weidman’s injury was a serious one, however:
“I wasn’t surprised Weidman would fall out,” said Rockhold. “He’s always been a brittle character. Yeah, and with New York on the table, I thought he had a lot of things to pull him away from this fight. What he had it looks like he couldn’t push through from what it sounds like” Rockhold said. “It’s an unfortunate situation. I wish him the best to heal up. I don’t want anyone to get injured on that level.”
The timing may set up nicely for Weidman to return at the anticipated UFC 20 from his home state of New York this November, but he has to heal up fully first, and in the meantime, the title picture will get sorted out in California next weekend.
When Weidman’s injury became known, it was obvious that only a couple of elite middleweights were actually contenders. It became clear to Rockhold that Bisping was the choice when the other man, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza needed minor knee surgery after his dominant win over Vitor Belfort at UFC 198, and Rockhold respects the British vet for stepping up:
“If you look at the division there were two obvious names (of replacements), Jacare (Souza) and Bisping,” Rockhold said. “Everyone else is a joke. At this point I haven’t seen anyone tear themselves from the pack. I think it was pretty obvious (who he was facing) when Jacare committed to having surgery. It was a pretty obvious choice, and Bisping wanted it. I respect Bisping for stepping up. He’s a courageous motherf******.”
Discussing their fight, which is a rematch of their first match-up at UFC Fight Night 55 in November 2014, Rockhold expressed his understandable excitement at defending the belt at The Forum in his home state:
“It excites me,” he said. “Being in California excites me. Inglewood, the first fight at The Forum. It’s going to be a fun event. I checked it out. There’s a lot of history in that building, NBA history, musical history, it’s a legendary concert hall. I’m looking to leave my mark at The Forum–on Bisping’s face.”
Never one to miss a stinging barb at his opponent, Rockhold then shifted his focus to the reason he’s evolved to such a high level as a fighter due to his pairing of his mental preparation with his already elite athleticism. The middleweight king then made the bold proclamation that he had mastered the mental and technical aspects of fighting so much that no one could match him in those areas, not even pound-for-pound king and all-time great former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Read on to the next page to find out why Rockhold believes he’s become the best overall fighter MMA.
Luke Rockhold got a new (in a sense) opponent when Michael Bisping stepped in on short notice to replace oft-injured former champion Chris Weidman, who was forced out with a serious neck injury, in the main event of June 4’s UFC 199 from Inglewood, California. Not surprisingly, Bisping got the trash talk started in short
Not surprisingly, Bisping got the trash talk started in short order with only a little over two weeks until the fight takes place, but after Rockhold already submitted ‘The Count’ in their first match-up at November 2014’s UFC Fight Night 55, it just doesn’t hold the same weight. In a side-by-side appearance on last night’s (Wed., May 18, 2016) “UFC Tonight,” Rockhold refuted Bisping’s insistence that the UFC middleweight title was his destiny in brutal fashion.
Check it out:
Rockhold on Bisping’s title aspirations: It’s your destiny, huh? It’s your destiny to be my little b****. #UFC199https://t.co/k5YkBnaE3d
It’s hardly a surprising reaction from the champ, who thoroughly dominated Bisping in all facets of the fight game not all that long ago, and indeed, it may be hard to envision a scenario where “The Count” walks away from The Forum with the middleweight title somehow wrapped around his waist. But the Brit is coming off by far his biggest win ever over all time great former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, albeit controversially.
Many would argue that is far from defeating the bulldozing force that Rockhold has undoubtedly become in recent years, however. Is Bisping’s real destiny to finally hoist the gold that has eluded him during his 10-year UFC career, or is he simply the next victim on Rockhold’s reign of destruction?
Heading into his rematch with Chris Weidman at June 4’s UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has a problem with the look of the upcoming event’s poster. Rockhold will look for his title defense against former champion Weidman, whom he took the belt from by fourth-round TKO stoppage
Heading into his rematch with Chris Weidman at June 4’s UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has a problem with the look of the upcoming event’s poster.
Rockhold will look for his title defense against former champion Weidman, whom he took the belt from by fourth-round TKO stoppage in the co-main event of last December’s UFC 194, but apparently he doesn’t think that the poster portrays that side of the story too well.
The Southern California native took to Twitter today to voice his frustration at the image, noting that what appears to be Weidman’s hand should not be in the middle of the photo. One of his followers then responded about the image in question. Check it out:
What you guys think of the #ufc199 poster? The hand in the middle baffles me, needs to go.
It would seem that Rockhold is angered by the fact that Weidman’s fist is being held next to his face, portraying him as the aggressor when it was in fact him who got the upper hand of the New York native in their first fight.
The two will now clash in Rockhold’s home state, and the emotions have already been running extremely heated for Weidman, who seems hell-bent on regaining his title, especially now that MMA has been made official in New York.
As for Rockhold’s dislike of the poster, he’ll have to take it up with the UFC’s design department, similar to how Conor McGregor did when he believed he wasn’t featured prominently enough in the poster for perviously scheduled lightweight title bout against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196.
Despite ultimately suffering a bloody beatdown against Luke Rockhold in the “Fight of the Night” at December’s UFC 194, former UFC middleweight champion has a firm belief he will regain the championship when he meets Rockhold again in the main event of June 4’s UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California. He’s never been
Despite ultimately suffering a bloody beatdown against Luke Rockhold in the “Fight of the Night” at December’s UFC 194, former UFC middleweight champion has a firm belief he will regain the championship when he meets Rockhold again in the main event of June 4’s UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
He’s never been one lacking for confidence, but the man who dethroned longtime champion Anderson Silva recently told MMA Fighting his belief was rooted in the fact that he was dealing with some relatively serious injuries in the first fight. Admitting there were no excuses, he instead called his broken foot and other ailments simple facts:
“I say these things, because they came out. It’s a fact. There’s no excuses.
“I knew what I was getting myself into, but I still thought I could go out there and beat him,” Weidman said. “Even with that stuff. And he proved that I was wrong. He came out to fight. He was better than me that night.”
As for the rematch, Weidman is more focused on his potential now that he knows what Rockhold brings to the table, as he was unable to reach anything even close to that in their first match-up. The East Coast native expressed gratitude at having a second chance, which he attributed to his illustrious accomplishments in the Octagon.
With that established, he predicted he would go out and destroy the champion at UFC 199:
“I know what I’m capable of,” Weidman said. “I know my potential and I know I wasn’t close to it. The fact that because of what I’ve accomplished in the past gives me the opportunity to get a rematch is a great situation to be in. In most situations, people don’t get the second chance, especially right away. So, I’m very grateful for the opportunity I have. There’s no question in my mind that I’m gonna go out there and make a statement, completely dominate him and make sure everybody knows the last fight was a fluke.”
Analyzing his performance, the All-American wrestler confessed he might have been overconfident after going into several fights with injuries and winning. However, ultimately he is thankful that it happened, as he acknowledged the improvement he was forced to acquire that he otherwise would not have:
“I’ve taken situations like that and gotten through it and gotten Ws. I thought it was gonna be another day like that and I was wrong. [The loss] really allowed me to grow in so many ways that I wouldn’t have been able to grow otherwise.”
Closing with his attention on Rockhold, Weidman said that the new champion has gotten overconfident in his short time with the belt, and it digs at him to have given him that supposed boost of arrogance. While it doesn’t necessarily make him happy , Weidman knows he has to swallow that pill and do everything necessary to ensure he brings Rockhold down to Earth at UFC 199:
“I feel like he’s cocky and I gave him a bigger head and gave him something to be even more cocky about,” Weidman said. “It sucks for me. I’ve gotta suck it up. I got a chance to deflate the head. That’s the goal. I have to go back in there and feed him some humble pie.”
Following last week’s official announcement at the UFC: Unstoppable press conference and the bad blood that followed, the stage is set for a high-stakes immediate rematch in Rockhold’s neck of the woods, and Weidman appears to be more intense and focused than he ever has been. Will the extra emotion play out in his favor in three months?
