Chris Weidman Might Be in Trouble
- kruizinkareem
- Nov 29, 2015
- 2 min read
One of the most interesting matchups coming up in December is Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold, both of whom have been looking unbeatable lately.
They’re fighting for the middle weight strap which they both want badly.
Let’s look at some of the strengths and weaknesses of these two and see how they match up against each other.
Let’s start with the champ, Chris Weidman.
Chris is a very strong, solid, and durable fighter; He can take punishment just as much as he can hand it out with a chin that’s been tested time and time again.
Weidman’s chin causes a big problem for Rockhold because a KO highly unlikely.
Weidman has solid stand up and accurate striking. Rockhold was put down once by Vitor Belfort, but that was with an out of this world accurate, and heavy spinning back kick which landed perfectly.
Weidman knocking Rockhold out is also another unlikely scenario.
Weidman usually comes out with a lot of pressure and presses forward not letting the opponent settle into the cage. To counter that, Rockhold doesn’t back up in a straight line, instead he cuts the angle and moves off to the side throwing a powerful right hook.
Another main strength for Weidman is
his wrestling, which is among the best in the UFC. Luke Rockhold trains with bigger, stronger wrestlers than Weidman, like DC and Cain Velasquez, so he might be able to shut down Weidman’s wrestling.
Rockhold has a debatable slight edge in the grappling department from what we saw in the cage, only because we haven’t seen Weidman’s jiu jitsu to its full potential yet - on paper; however, Weidman is just as good as Rockhold. Chris is a blackbelt in jiu jitsu under the legendary Renzo Gracie, and trains with Matt Serra who’s notorious for his jiu jitsu skills.
Luke also utilizes an array of kicks in a creative and destructive way, from the question mark kick to the devastating liver kick. Chris Weidman is a solid, strong fighter with heart and a tough body that can handle any kicks that pass his guard.
Luke Rockhold can switch stances and change his attacks; he has such a diverse amount of weapons to attack with which could be a huge advantage. Chris Weidman has fought Anderson Silva and didn’t seem to fall too much into his traps and his creative striking.
Key strength for Weidman
-Pressure – Constantly pressing forward leaving no time for opponent to reset.
-Wrestling
-Durability
Key strength for Rockhold
-Right hook as he cuts the angle to counter opponent’s pressure
-Training with DC and Cain Velasquez could help counter Weidman’s wrestling
-Diversity of attacks
-variety of kick’s styles
-Switching stances
Below are videos highlighting both fighters strengths
Chris Weidman Highlights
Luke Rockhold signature moves
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