Luke Rockhold Presses Dana White for Next Crack at Chris Weidman
Top-ranked middleweight Luke Rockhold believes he should get the next crack at champion Chris Weidman. He tracked down UFC president Dana White following UFC 187 on Saturday to make sure his boss knew just how strongly he felt about it.
“It took me so long to get here because Luke Rockhold had me in the hallway over here,” said White during the UFC 187 Post Show. “Luke Rockhold said, ‘do not give this fight to Jacare [Ronaldo Souza]. Jacare isn’t going to come in and do what I’m going to do. You saw what I did to [Lyoto] Machida. That’s exactly what I’m going to do to Weidman. Me and Weidman will be a stand-up fight.’ I mean he was all over me back there.”
Rockhold also appeared on the UFC 187 Post Show and confirmed that he spoke with White and lobbied him for the next title fight.
“I had a talk with the boss. That’s what I’m coming for. It’s my shot. It’s my time,” said the 30-year-old contender.
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Rockhold has it all planned out, including dates and locations.
“The talk was good. I know they have a date locked down in September. I know they have a date locked down in December. Given those two timeframes, I figured I’d fight Chris in September. December, I believe is the New York date they might have locked down. Then, I’ll defend it against him in New York, in December. That’s my timeframe. That’s what’s going to happen. Mark your calendars,” he said.
“I’ve seen this fight for a long time. Me and Chris have known each other before we even entered the UFC, and we’ve known this fight was coming. And this is the perfect time for it,” added the American Kickboxing Academy-trained fighter.
White admitted that Rockhold was the No. 1 contender, but didn't commit to saying he was definitively getting the next title shot.
“We'll see what happens,” he said.
