Coach Predicts That Weidman Will Knock Rockhold Out Early
Surging contender and former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold seemed quite confident regarding his middleweight title tilt with current champion Chris Weidman at this weekend’s (December 12, 2015) UFC 194, recently saying that the “All-American” wouldn’t make it out of the third round.
Weidman’s long-time head coach Ray Longo, who appeared on today’s edition of the MMA Hour, had a different view of how the fight may play out. While Longo pointed out some of Rockhold’s strengths, the Long Island based coach simply feels as if Weidman is the superior fighter:
“I think he (Rockhold) fights long. I think he knows how to use his height, and his range. So it’ll be interesting to see how Chris deals with that, but I think that we did a good job of preparing him for that. But you know, he seems like he always fights good going backwards like that. So, we looked at a couple of things, but I would say that’s it. Like, again I think he’s an opportunist and if he gets a chance he jumps on top of it. I think he does that good, but other than that, I think Chris does everything better than him.”
Weidman hasn’t competed since last May when he scored a brutal first round finish over Vitor Belfort at UFC 187, and Longo sees the upcoming bout ending in similar fashion: an early finish:
“I’m predicting a knockout. I think it’s early. I think it’s going to be early. I think Weidman’s going to do what he always does. He’s very confident, he’s going to walk across the ring. The other guy thinks he’s going to meet him in the middle, which I hope he does, and we’ll see what happens.”
Now just a few days out from fight night, fans will be treated to a title fight between not only two of the best 185-pounders in the game, but two 185-pounders who believe that they are destined for greatness which should make for a great contest.
Who are you picking?
