Luke Rockhold On Chris Weidman: Fighting In New York Would Be Awesome
No. 1-ranked middleweight Luke Rockhold must be a happy man with UFC president Dana White announcing on last night’s (June 3, 2015) edition of UFC Tonight that Rockhold would get the next title shot at middleweight king Chris Weidman. After earning his fourth-straight finish against Lyoto Machida at April’s UFC on FOX 15, and Weidman defending his title against Vitor Belfort at May’s UFC 187, “Rocky” said that he didn’t know what the UFC was waiting for as far as when the fight would be announced, but it looks as if the promotion has finally made a decision.
Speaking with FOX Sports, Rockhold admitted that he actually only found out about the news moments before White announced it to the world. He also said that his teammate and UFC Tonight host Daniel Cormier had an influence, haggling White to break the news:
“I found out right before everyone else found out,” Rockhold said. “I think [UFC Tonight co-host and light heavyweight champ Daniel] Cormier pressured Dana pretty hard make the announcement (laughs). So, that was helpful.”
Coming off one of the biggest wins of his career against Machida, Rockhold has stayed ready and is more motivated than ever to get after it and shine against Weidman:
“I’ve been pretty positive throughout the whole process of waiting to find out if I’d get the fight, in feeling that I’d get it. So, I’ve stayed in shape. I was just in Phoenix training my butt off, actually. I’ve been fired up since the Machida fight. I’ve had my fun but I never got too out of shape. I’m motivated to get after it.”
Despite his recent surge of devastating success, Rockhold knows that Weidman will be the toughest opponent of his career, but the American Kickboxing Academy product is confident nonetheless. He stated that both he and Weidman believe that they are invincible, and that come fight night, we’ll see who the better man is:
“There’s going to be a lot of promotion for this fight. I think weidman is pretty confident in himself and what he brings to the table. We’ve both got Alpha Male complexes. He thinks that he’s invincible and I think I’m invincible. We’re going to see who is right and who is wrong.”
As far as when this fight will take place, a date and a venue has not yet been announced and we have to believe that it will stay that way until the bill to legalize mixed martial arts (MMA) in New York is either passed or rejected. The UFC is confident that the door to New York will finally be opened this year, so confident that they have set aside a pay-per-view (PPV) event in December for Madison Square Garden, and if the bill is indeed passed, Weidman will undoubtedly headline the event.
That being said, Rockhold originally felt as if December was too long to wait, saying that he would beat the “All-American” in September, then give Weidman a rematch in December. However, “Rocky” now says that September may be too soon, and fighting in New York would be awesome:
“I’m eagerly waiting for a date. I could only imagine that it would be later this year. I doubt it would be in Septemember just because from a promotional stand point, there isn’t a lot of time, but maybe not. Who knows? I know the UFC is still hopeful for New York [in December]. That would be awesome.”
This sure seems like it’s gearing up to be a fight for the ages, and one between two of the best 185-pounders on the planet. Who takes this one?
