Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman are finally going up against each other in an epic fight this coming December 12th.
As expected, both fighters are doing their own preparations, but one thing caught Rockhold’s attention- the MMA middleweight champion is walking around at just 192 pounds days before the fight.
Rockhold revealed that he is at 202 pounds as of the moment, and he’s not sure if Weidman can actually make a good fight with his 192-pound body. The contender took this as advantage though.
“I’m looking forward to throwing him around, all 192 pounds of him,” Rockhold said.
A lot spectators are thinking that the release of this information might be a psychological ploy against him. Rockhold, however, is thinking otherwise.
“He’s not one to lie, he doesn’t make up things, he’s not that type of person. For him to say that, I don’t think his nutritionist understands anything about fighting,” he said.
Rockhold also said that Weidman would probably know if something’s wrong or this step will not be good for him and make him less effective inside the MMA cage.
“If something wasn’t going right in camp, he’d feel it, but that’s a light weight for him. I don’t think he’s ever fought that light. I think people will be surprised when I stand next to him. He’s going to look pretty small, especially now,” he said.
The USADA has banned the use of IV as a rehydration process after the weigh in. With this new policy, both fighters would need to fight inside the cage with the IV rehydration for the very first time. Such policy would be a bit challenging for those fighters who are cutting a huge amount of weight before the weigh ins. This may be the reason why Weidman chose to stay a bit on the lower weight limit of the division. Rockhold, however, revealed that he had used IV rehydration in the past, but he doesn’t use those often, so abiding by the new policy won’t be that hard for him.
“I think he’s getting a little bit better here and there, but I still see him getting overaggressive which obviously will cause him to be clumsy and leave openings. He hasn’t fought anybody who can exploit his holes in his game and his openings. He’s fought a bunch of guys who are scared of him, that don’t have the wrestling and ground game to keep up with him. He’s fighting a guy who is better than him on the ground, who can defend his wrestling, who can fight him on his feet, and who can pick him apart,” Rockhold said.
Rockhold also added that he thinks he can control the MMA fight against Weidman.
“I believe, I really think I can control this fight wherever it goes. He has to pick his poison, does he want to get beat on the feet or does he want to get beat on the ground. His back has never touched the mat and in this fight it surely will. I’m comfortable wherever the fight goes, on my back, or on top. I don’t care where the fight goes. That gives me relaxation, gives me the confidence and takes away all the anxiety and tension that all these fighters have. If he loses control of the situation, he panics, freaks out and he can’t adjust. He doesn’t have a clear vision, and that’s where the fight will change,” he added.