Champ Luke Rockhold 'not opposed' to immediate rematch with Chris Weidman

Luke Rockhold is leaving his options open when it comes to an opponent for his first UFC middleweight title defense.

Immediately following his fourth-round TKO of Chris Weidman (13-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) to capture the title at UFC 194 in December, Rockhold (15-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) made it clear his sights were set on a rematch with Vitor Belfort (25-11 MMA, 14-7 UFC).

Rockhold has an unfriendly past with Belfort after “The Phenom” spoiled his UFC debut in May 2013 with a highlight-reel spinning wheel kick knockout in the first round at UFC on FX 7. He wants to correct that blemish on his resume, but Belfort’s legitimacy as a title contender is arguable due to just a one-fight winning streak.

If not for Belfort, the most logical contender is Yoel Romero (11-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who is on a seven-fight winning streak at 185 pounds with the most recent being a split decision win over Ronaldo Souza at UFC 194. “The Solider of God” has put together the longest run of victories in the weight class, but his lack of box office notoriety caused Rockhold to raise some concerns.

Although Rockhold made his desire for a Belfort rematch and lack of desire for a Romero fight quite clear, he has apparently changed his tune in regards to Weidman and opened the door for an immediate rematch.

Weidman went undefeated for more than five years prior to his encounter with Rockhold. In the fight he was competitive for several rounds until Rockhold took over in the third and finished it in the fourth.

Rockhold said (via Instagram) that he’s “not opposed” to running it back with Weidman one more time. However, he also posed the question to his followers about which fight they would like to see most.

So Weidman wants to do it again… I'm not opposed. Who would you like to see next? Better yet, who you gonna buy?

A photo posted by Luke Rockhold (@lukerockhold) on Jan 7, 2016 at 10:49pm PST

It still remains to be seen which fight Rockhold will find himself in for his first UFC middleweight title defense. However, he does know one thing, and that’s that he has no intention of fighting at UFC 199.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.