Chris Weidman isn’t interested in a rematch with Luke Rockhold right now.
Weidman is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Omari Akhmedov. The former UFC middleweight champion earned his first victory since submitting Kelvin Gastelum back in July 2017. Weidman will find himself back in the top 15 UFC middleweight rankings as Akhmedov held the number 11 spot.
Chris Weidman Dismissed Luke Rockhold Rematch For Now
Weidman appeared on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show and he said he doesn’t believe a second bout with Rockhold would serve him well at this time (via MMAMania).
“I don’t know what that does for me. It’s a fight that I get a win back. But he hasn’t done much in a while. He is coming off retirement a win over him doesn’t do much for and I really want to put myself in title contention,” he said. “I’d rather fight a guy who is up in the rankings more. I don’t know. I am not completely opposed to it but I’m nor really sure what makes sense right now.
“For him to just come right back and have a fight against me, a big, big fight, he should put some work in.”
Rockhold defeated Weidman back in Dec. 2015 to become the UFC middleweight champion. Things have gone downhill for both men since that bout. Weidman has gone 2-4 since that fight, while Rockhold has gone 1-3.
While speaking to the folks at Submission Radio, Rockhold trashed Weidman’s performance against Akhmedov. He called Weidman’s efforts “pathetic.” With Rockhold holding off on retirement, it’ll be interesting to see if a rematch is in order.
