Luke Rockhold is the new UFC Middleweight Champion.
The former Strikeforce Middleweight Champ absolutely demolished Chris Weidman at UFC 194 on Saturday night, scoring a fourth round TKO in a fight that should have been stopped at the end of the third.
It started off competitively enough, with Weidman dictating much of the pace in the opening round, though Rockhold had some decent offense. The second was then taken over by Rockhold, as he lit Weidman up from range with vicious kicks to the body and legs.
Weidman began a comeback in the third, as Rockhold seemed to slow down a bit. Then, Weidman threw an inexplicable – not to mention extremely slow – spinning kick, and Rockhold took his back and took him to the ground. He mounted, and beat the hell out of him with punches and elbows. The fight should have been stopped with as much as 25 seconds left in the round, but Herb Dean refused to step in and let him take a ridiculous amount of punishment.
The fourth was a formality, as Rockhold again secured a takedown, eventually mounted, and continued throwing down strikes until Dean finally stepped in.
With the win, Rockhold is the fourth current UFC Champion who had a run in Strikeforce, and he’s established himself as the best middleweight in the world.
[Photo (c) Joe Camporeale via USA Today Sports]
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