Chris Weidman

UFC: Luke Rockhold opts against retirement; returning to middleweight

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Luke Rockhold

The UFC‘s middleweight division is going to be adding another contender to the stacked division. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, former champion, Luke Rockhold (16-5), will be returning to action in the middleweight division.

It has been over a year since we have seen Rockhold inside the UFC. Rockhold had moved up to light heavyweight and was knocked out by Jan Blachowicz in the second round at UFC 239.

Former UFC champion is returning

After Rockhold suffered the knockout loss, he hinted that he would be walking away from the sport. Rockhold had suffered back to back brutal knockout losses and one resulted in a broken jaw.

Despite the losses, Rockhold was the champion just four fights ago. Rockhold defeated Chris Weidman at UFC 194 to become middleweight champion capping off a two year run where he went 5-0 on his way to the title.

Rockhold and Weidman were scheduled to rematch at UFC 199. However, when Weidman had to pull out, Michael Bisping stepped in. We all know what happened then. Bisping shocked the world by knocking out Rockhold.

Rockhold bounced back with a dominant win over David Branch before losing two straight via knockout. Now, the former champion is going to be returning to the middleweight division.

Another former champion just made a very similar move, and it’s a familiar foe. Chris Weidman just moved back to middleweight after also suffering a brutal knockout in the light heavyweight division.

Today, we released on article about what was next for Weidman. I think Rockhold’s middleweight return just changed that whole situation. To me, it was difficult placing Weidman’s next opponent, but a fight with Rockhold makes perfect sense.

These two men do not like each other and their rematch is years in the making. There aren’t a ton of fights that make sense for either man, so why not pair them up for a contest before the end of the year? That would definitely be a fun fight for both men.

What’s next for Chris Weidman after UFC Vegas 6 victory?

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Chris Weidman

On Saturday night, former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman (15-5), successfully returned to the middleweight division. After a one fight stint at light heavyweight, the former champion returned to face Omari Akhmedov (20-5-1).

Akhmedov entered the contest ranked 11th in the division. He hadn’t lost a UFC contest since April of 2016. Akhmedov has a tendency to make fights ugly. Many people didn’t know what to expect when Weidman would face him.

Weidman had his back up against a wall. The former champion was no longer a ranked fighter after going 1-5 in his previous six contest. He was finished in all five of those losses.

The All American showed up Saturday night and proved that he can still win at this level. It was an ugly fight, but Weidman got a much needed victory in the UFC. He took time after the fight to announce that he was back.

What’s next for the former UFC champ?

Weidman made it clear to the top tier guys that he was coming back, but acknowledge his performance wasn’t the best in his post-fight interview. The former champion will definitely have a number by his name when the new UFC rankings are released.

So what does the UFC do with Weidman? While I understand his desire to call out the top guys, he needs to earn those fights with consistent wins. A win over Akhmedov is a step in the right direction, but Weidman really needs to continue to prove himself.

The question becomes, who do you put him in there with? In looking at the rankings, there aren’t a ton of options. I wouldn’t have him fight Gastelum again, and he’s not going to get a shot against guys like Brunson or Hermansson.

I know this would technically be a step backwards in the rankings, but I would have him take on a guy like Marvin Vettori (15-4-1) next. The Italian Dream needs a fight and the UFC is having trouble finding him an opponent.

He’s won three fights in a row and he last lost a very competitive decision to the current champion. If Weidman fights and beats Vettori, you can move him up to a top five opponent given a two fight winning streak and his history.

On the other hand, if Vettori wins, you have a very exciting contender who will be coming off of the biggest win of his career. Not sure the UFC will go this way, but that’s my idea. I think Weidman shouldn’t be rushed. Give him one more guy outside the top tier before throwing him to the wolves.

UFC Vegas 6 Preview: Derrick Lewis and Alexey Oleynik battle in a heavyweight main event

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The UFC will host another Fight Night from the APEX tomorrow night. In the main event of the evening, The Black Beast, Derrick Lewis (23-7), takes on Alexey Oleynik (59-13-1) in a heavyweight battle. Lets take a look at the main card for UFC Vegas 6.

Lewis & Oleynik going for 3 straight in the UFC

One of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC is back as The Black Beast returns tomorrow night. Lewis is entertaining for his fighting style and his one of a kind post-fight interviews.

Lewis is one of the most powerful punchers in the heavyweight division. He’s the kind of guy who’s going to try to remove your head when he hits you. Over his career, Lewis has wins over Alexander Volkov, Francis Ngannou, Travis Brown, Roy Nelson, and I could go on.

Lewis was able to get a title shot in late 2018 after winning three fights in a row. He was stopped due to Daniel Cormier’s heavy wrestling attack. After that, he lost to JDS, but has since bounced back with back-to-back wins.

Oleynik also comes into this fight after winning back-to-back fights. Oleynik is looking to get his 60th professional win tomorrow night which is truly incredible.

The Boa Constrictor is the perfect name for Oleynik. He’s going to look to get this fight to the ground so he can choke Lewis. Out of 59 wins, 46 of them have come via submission over Oleynik’s career.

Now, we have seen Oleynik get finished recently. Before his two straight wins, he was knocked out in the first round by Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem.

Oleynik’s only chance in this fight is to get the fight to the ground, and I’m not sure he has the wrestling to get Lewis down. If he can get top position somehow, he can easily win this fight by submission.

However, I think Lewis is going to have his way on the feet. I expect something big to land early, and I expect that we will get another classic Derrick Lewis post-fight interview.

Prediction: Derrick Lewis by TKO – Round 1

Chris Weidman vs Omari Akhmedov

In the co-main event of the evening we have a middleweight contest between the former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman (14-5) and Omari Akhmedov (20-4-1).

For Weidman, this is a massive fight for his career. The former champion enters the cage after going 1-5 in his last six fights. All five of those losses have seen him get knocked out. The one fight he won, he also got dropped by Kelvin Gastelum.

A few years ago, Weidman was considered one of the pound for pound best. He had good wrestling, he was good on the ground, and he had solid striking with good power. However, the last five years have left us wondering just how good he really was.

Weidman moved up to light heavyweight late last year to try something new and was quickly knocked out by Dominick Reyes. This fight is truly a make or break fight for the All-American.

Akhmedov has quietly put together a very impressive resume over the last four years. He’s going 5-0-1 with wins over guys like Ian Heinisch and Tim Boetsch. Akhmedov might not be the most exciting fighter, but he’s very effective.

This is a fight where I’m really not sure what to expect. This fight is not going to be thrilling on the feet, and I think we might see a couple of stalemates in the grappling exchanges.

To me, this is truly a toss-up. I think this will be probably the most underwhelming fight on the main card. I think it’s close because neither man dominates, but I’ll go out on a slight edge and say Weidman will get a split decision here.

Prediction: Chris Weidman by Split Decision

Darren Stewart vs Maki Pitolo

The third fight of the UFC Vegas 6 main card features middleweights Darren Stewart (11-5, 1 NC) and Maki Pitolo (13-5). If you’re wanting a stand up battle tomorrow night, look no further than this fight.

Stewart enters the octagon after going 4-2 in his last six fights. The biggest name he fought was Edmen Shahbazyan and the fight was very close. Stewart performed very well there.

Stewart is one of the more powerful guys in the division. He pushes forward with big shots and he usually starts very fast. He didn’t look great in his last fight against Bartosz Fabinski, but fortunately, Stewart is fighting someone who’s going to try and wrestle him.

Coconut Bombz, Maki Pitolo, is coming off of a knockout win over Charles Byrd back at UFC 250. Pitolo will enter the cage 4-1 in his last five fights.

Like Stewart, Pitolo is the type of guy who is going to stand and bang. He’s going to throw big power at you. If this fight has a finish, I think Pitolo is going to get it done.

However, I’m not sure the fight will get finished. If Stewart can stay patient and not be drawn into a brawl, I think he can win this fight on the scorecards. However, if it turns into brawl mode, he might get hurt.

Prediction: Darren Stewart by Split Decision

Julija Stoliarenko vs Yana Kunitskaya

The second fight of the main card features a UFC women’s bantamweight contest between Julija Stoliarenko (9-3-2) and Yana Kunitskaya (12-5, 1 NC).

Kunitskaya has had an interesting run in the UFC so far. She got the pleasure of debuting against Cris Cyborg. Predictably, she was finished in the first round. She then won back-to-back fights before fighting Aspen Ladd.

Kunitskaya was finished in the third round of that fight. 2-2 in the octagon so far but the two losses were to top competition. The former Invicta bantamweight champion has a pretty solid overall game.

She has good wrestling and she’s skilled on the feet. She’s going to bring a diverse striking attack to Stoliarenko. I really like Kunitskaya’s kicks and I think those could be key in this matchup.

Stoliarenko is a submission specialist that’s only lost once since 2016. That fight came against Leah Letson at the Ultimate Fighter finale back in 2018. Stoliarenko competed and lost on the show as well.

Out of nine professional wins, eight of them have come via armbar. When the fight hits the mat, there’s no questioning what Stoliarenko is looking to do. On the feet, she can hold her own, but will definitely be at a disadvantage here.

I think this is a tough matchup for Stoliarenko. If the fight hits the ground, she’s very capable of pulling off a submission victory, but I think we are going to see these ladies stand most of the fight which really favors Kunitskaya.

Prediction: Yana Kunitskaya by Unanimous Decision

Beneil Dariush vs Scott Holtzman

The UFC Vegas 6 main card kicks off with a lightweight contest between Beneil Dariush (18-4-1) and Scott Holtzman (14-3). Both guys will make the walk tomorrow carrying multiple fight winning streaks.

Dariush will enter the octagon riding a four fight winning streak. Quietly, Dariush has been one of the better fighters at lightweight for a long time, but due to the stacked nature of the division, he’s a guy who flies under the radar.

Dariush is really good wherever the fight goes. Great on the ground and fluid on his feet. He hold wins over guys like Jim Miller, Michael Johnson, James Vick, Drew Dober and Drakkar Klose. The one real knock on Dariush is he has a tendency to get rocked on the feet.

That tendency is something that Holtzman will look to take advantage of. He will look to press the action and use his solid boxing skills to win a stand up fight with Dariush.

Holtzman looked really good back in February in his fight with Jim Miller winning by unanimous decision. Holtzman has some good pop in his shots and he’s got decent wrestling as well.

The problem for Holtzman is that I’m just not sure he’s better at anything over Dariush. I think at some point late in the fight, the two are going to end up on the mat, and I think Dariush is going to pick up his fifth straight victory.

Prediction: Beneil Dariush by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 3

UFC Vegas 6 Outlook

The month of August is the month of the heavyweights for the UFC. This is our official tuneup for next week’s Stipe-DC 3 title fight. There are very solid fights up and down the card, and I expect to see some solid action overall.

UFC: What to do with Anderson Silva’s last two fights?

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The career of one of the greatest of all time in the UFC is coming to an end. Anderson “The Spider” Silva (34-10, 1 NC) is down to the final two fights of his career. Silva is considered to be on the short list for the greatest. In his prime, Silva’s run was incredible as he went 16-0 in the UFC with 11 successful defenses of the middleweight title. Silva lost the title to Chris Weidman, then in the rematch suffered a horrific broken leg. Silva is on a stretch currently where he’s gone (1-6 with 1 NC) in his last eight fights. Most of those fights besides the Cormier and Connonier fights were competitive while they lasted. With two fights left, who should the Spider fight in his last couple of fights?

Uriah Hall

I’m going to start with a fight that we were supposed to see a few years ago. Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall (15-9) were initially scheduled to fight at UFC 198. Silva had to pull out of the fight due to a medical issue. The fight would be a striking lovers dream. Both men have entertaining styles, and both men would want to trade. Hall came out of the Ultimate Fighter years ago being labeled as the next Anderson Silva. People thought the two were on a collision course for the UFC middleweight title. Of course, Hall’s career never took off the way we thought, and Anderson hit the tough stretch mentioned above.

At this stage, I think it would be the perfect matchup for Silva. Now, Uriah Hall is currently scheduled to fight Yoel Romero in August. If Hall gets through Romero, the fight wouldn’t make sense if you’re Hall because he will likely want someone who will get him closer to a title shot. However, if Romero wins, Hall will need an opponent, and Silva would be the perfect choice. A lot of moving parts, but this is a fight that I would love to see.

Shogun Rua

What more could you ask for if you’re a fan of Brazilian MMA. Two absolute legends in the sport going head-to-head near the end of their careers. If this fight were to come together, it’d have to be done in Brazil. I can just imagine the Brazilian crowd with Silva taking on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (26-11-1). Both men are former UFC champions, and both men would be enshrined in any MMA Hall of Fame.

Rua, who turns 39-years-old later this year, is scheduled to conclude his trilogy with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in July. If Rua gets through that fight victorious, a fight with Silva would make perfect sense. Neither man is going to be making a run for the title at this stage of their careers. Why not pair the two up for a main event that global MMA fans would love to see? Obviously it wouldn’t be the same as it would have been years ago, but for the die-hards, this would be a fight that you’d turn in for.

Robbie Lawler

This one is coming out of left field, but just think about it. How much fun would it be for Silva to take on former UFC welterweight champion, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (28-14, 1 NC)? The former welterweight king is entering the twilight of his career. After reining over the 170 pound division, Lawler has gone 1-4 in his last five fights. At 38-years-old, you have to wonder what’s next for Lawler. Lawler was completely dominated by Colby Covington in his last fight.

It’s hard to imagine Lawler climbing up the mountain again at this stage. However, we all know that Lawler is not done with his UFC career. Why not have him move back up to 185 pounds to fight Anderson Silva? Both men are former champions, and both men don’t have a clear next step in their careers. This would be another fun one for fight fans everywhere. Anderson does the best when a guy goes right after him, and we know that Lawler will do just that.

Chris Weidman

This would probably be the fight that Anderson Silva would want if you asked him who he’d like to fight (Outside of Conor McGregor). For years, Silva has maintained that he believes that he was better than Chris Weidman (14-5). Weidman knocked Silva out at UFC 162 after Silva was showboating. Silva was controlling the striking and having fun, but he got a little too careless. The two immediately ran the fight back, and Silva was losing this contest. In the second round, Silva looked to be getting into his rhythm before Weidman checked a leg kick that snapped Silva’s leg.

In the eyes of the MMA world, the two fights have a “What if?” about them. What if Anderson took Weidman seriously and didn’t put his hands down in the first fight? What if Silva didn’t break his leg in the second fight? No matter what Weidman says, there are always going to be questions around those two fights. Many won’t give Weidman his proper due for those fights. Obviously Silva is not the same guy anymore, but neither is Weidman who has gone 1-5 in his last six fights getting knocked out in every loss. Weidman has a fight coming up, but regardless of the outcome, why not run it back one final time? Give Weidman the chance to shut the doubters up for good or give Anderson the chance to prove that both fights were flukes.

What does the UFC do?

I really don’t know what Dana White and the UFC are going to do with these last couple of fights. All we know for sure is that they are not going to give Silva a pure wrestler outside of Weidman. They are going to give him someone who will stand and trade. Anderson Silva is one of the reasons I became a massive MMA fan, and it’s going to be bitter-sweet seeing these last couple of fights. No, he’s not the same guy he used to be, but in the hearts of fans everywhere, we will still get goosebumps hearing “Ain’t No Sunshine” by DMX play as Silva makes his walk for the couple of times.

UFC: Chris Weidman returns against Omari Akhmedov on Aug. 8th

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Former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman (14-5), will be making his first appearance in 2020 on August 8th. The former champion will be taking on rising middleweight contender, Omari Akhmedov (20-4-1). The fight will be on the same card that is being headlined by heavyweights, Derrick Lewis and Alexey Oleinik.

Former UFC middleweight champ’s back is against the wall

Chris Weidman has fallen under some serious hard times over the last few years. Weidman was at one point 13-0, and was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Since then, Weidman has gone 1-5 being knocked out in all five of his losses. It is important to note that in four of those five losses, Weidman was doing very well in every fight before getting caught. The last time we saw Weidman was in October against Dominick Reyes at UFC on ESPN 6. Weidman decided to move up to light heavyweight to restart his career. However, Reyes smashed Weidman and finished him within the first two minutes. After that loss, Weidman has decided to return to the division where he was once the champion, hoping for one more run.

Akhmedov looking for his biggest win yet

Akhmedov had a very impressive 2019. The Russian went 3-0 including a win over Ian Heinisch. As a result, Akhmedov jumped up to being the 11th ranked middleweight in the world. A win over Weidman would be massive for Akhmedov’s career. Sure, Weidman isn’t the guy he was five years ago, but he’s still got a big name in the sport. If Akhmedov is able to defeat Weidman, you will likely see him make another jump in the rankings. He might be gearing up for a top five opponent if he’s able to win on August 8th. It’s a big fight for both men. For Weidman, if he’s not able to pick up the win, one has to wonder if he’ll walk away from the sport. For Akhmedov, it would be the biggest win of his UFC career which could vault him towards the top five.