The UFC middleweight champion of the world, Chris Weidman, will be back in action as an early Christmas gift to ultimate fighting fans, as SportsCenter reported Thursday night:
BREAKING: Chris Weidman will defend his UFC Middleweight Championship against Luke Rockhold at UFC 194 on Dec 12. pic.twitter.com/gCGroHhtEQ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 14, 2015
With the fight set to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Luke Rockhold is the No. 1 challenger in the middleweight division to champion Weidman. The fight will be the co-main event to Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 194.
Here is a look at some of Weidman and Rockhold's key stats:
| Chris Weidman | Stat | Luke Rockhold |
| 13-0-0 | Record | 14-2-0 |
| 31 | Age | 30 |
| 6'2" | Height | 6'3" |
| 185 lbs | Weight | 185 lbs |
| 43% | Strike Rate | 53% |
| 57% | Takedown Rate | 50% |
UFC.com
It's going to be a clash of conflicting styles in this fight. Weidman finds more success in his takedown, with 21 in his career, while Rockhold has just one.
But Rockhold is much better striking his opponent, and an extra inch he has on Weidman could come in handy. With 63 percent of his successful strikes coming while standing, his best chance of pulling off the upset is by staying on his feet, not allowing Weidman to get around his legs.
A former wrestler at Hofstra University, Weidman's ability to take down his opponent doesn't rattle Rockhold at all, as he told Newsday's Gene Morris:
Weidman is tough and I'll give him a little offensive wrestling advantage over me. But wrestling is going to be a means to nowhere for him. He's going to put himself in a worse situation if he wants to take me down . . . I think I'm faster, have more weapons, more finesse and I'm more technical.
Weidman, however, isn't affected by Rockhold's talk, as he told MMAJunkie.com:
He’s good looking. I’ll give him that. Other than that, he stinks at everything. No, he’s good. He’s well-rounded. It doesn’t matter. Any of these guys at my weight – I’m just running through everybody.
It's hard to disagree with him. Weidman has defeated some of the biggest names in the sport, including two second-round TKOs of Anderson Silva and another first-round knockout of Vitor Belfort, someone Rockhold lost to in May 2013.
In fact, in his first 13 fights, Weidman has not been taken down once and has successfully defended his belt three times after his first defeat of Silva. Rockhold is going to have his work cut out for him, but four straight wins, including a second-round submission of Lyoto Machida in April, will see him flying high into December.
Stats courtesy of UFC.com
