Chris Weidman: I Got A Chance To Deflate “Cocky” Luke Rockhold’s Head
Despite ultimately suffering a bloody beatdown against Luke Rockhold in the “Fight of the Night” at December’s UFC 194, former UFC middleweight champion has a firm belief he will regain the championship when he meets Rockhold again in the main event of June 4’s UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
He’s never been one lacking for confidence, but the man who dethroned longtime champion Anderson Silva recently told MMA Fighting his belief was rooted in the fact that he was dealing with some relatively serious injuries in the first fight. Admitting there were no excuses, he instead called his broken foot and other ailments simple facts:
“I say these things, because they came out. It’s a fact. There’s no excuses.
“I knew what I was getting myself into, but I still thought I could go out there and beat him,” Weidman said. “Even with that stuff. And he proved that I was wrong. He came out to fight. He was better than me that night.”
As for the rematch, Weidman is more focused on his potential now that he knows what Rockhold brings to the table, as he was unable to reach anything even close to that in their first match-up. The East Coast native expressed gratitude at having a second chance, which he attributed to his illustrious accomplishments in the Octagon.
With that established, he predicted he would go out and destroy the champion at UFC 199:
“I know what I’m capable of,” Weidman said. “I know my potential and I know I wasn’t close to it. The fact that because of what I’ve accomplished in the past gives me the opportunity to get a rematch is a great situation to be in. In most situations, people don’t get the second chance, especially right away. So, I’m very grateful for the opportunity I have. There’s no question in my mind that I’m gonna go out there and make a statement, completely dominate him and make sure everybody knows the last fight was a fluke.”
Analyzing his performance, the All-American wrestler confessed he might have been overconfident after going into several fights with injuries and winning. However, ultimately he is thankful that it happened, as he acknowledged the improvement he was forced to acquire that he otherwise would not have:
“I’ve taken situations like that and gotten through it and gotten Ws. I thought it was gonna be another day like that and I was wrong. [The loss] really allowed me to grow in so many ways that I wouldn’t have been able to grow otherwise.”
Closing with his attention on Rockhold, Weidman said that the new champion has gotten overconfident in his short time with the belt, and it digs at him to have given him that supposed boost of arrogance. While it doesn’t necessarily make him happy , Weidman knows he has to swallow that pill and do everything necessary to ensure he brings Rockhold down to Earth at UFC 199:
“I feel like he’s cocky and I gave him a bigger head and gave him something to be even more cocky about,” Weidman said. “It sucks for me. I’ve gotta suck it up. I got a chance to deflate the head. That’s the goal. I have to go back in there and feed him some humble pie.”
Following last week’s official announcement at the UFC: Unstoppable press conference and the bad blood that followed, the stage is set for a high-stakes immediate rematch in Rockhold’s neck of the woods, and Weidman appears to be more intense and focused than he ever has been. Will the extra emotion play out in his favor in three months?
