Latest news with #Weidman
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luke Rockhold vows to 'ice' Chris Weidman in GFL rematch, wants to box Darren Till after
Luke Rockhold is already on the move with Global Fight League. When GFL unveiled complete rosters for each of its six teams. Rockhold was drafted as a middleweight for Team Dubai, led by his old American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez. However, Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani confirmed Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show" that the former UFC middleweight champion has been traded to GFL's Team LA in order to put together a Chris Weidman rematch. The promotion is expected to launch in April, and Rockhold very much wants that fight. "Weidman and me, it makes the most sense, I think, and it's fun," Rockhold said. "I think there's rumors of a fight coming here to LA, and I'm healthy, man. I'm healthy and I'm training and back to it. So, Weidman, I'd love to close that door, as Dricus [du Plessis] would say. I think I already closed it [at UFC 194], but I'm going to secure that bag, get the fight." Rockhold's and Weidman's history dates back to 2015, when they met in UFC 194's co-main event as a high-profile appetizer to the much-anticipated Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor showdown. Rockhold ultimately made good on the opportunity, finishing the then-undefeated Weidman with a fourth-round barrage of strikes to capture the UFC middleweight championship in brutal fashion. Nine years later, both former champions are now under the GFL umbrella, with Weidman on Team New York. A rematch was supposed to happen at UFC 199 in 2016, but injury forced Weidman to withdraw two weeks out from fight night, resulting in Michael Bisping's historic underdog win over Rockhold. After parting ways with UFC in December, Weidman joined GFL mere days later, citing a potential Rockhold rematch as one of the reasons he was most interested in joining the promotion. If and when that fight gets booked, Rockhold expects it to end similarly to the first for Weidman. "Let's see how it goes, I like my chances this time around," Rockhold said. "I think Weidman is a little slower than I've come off [in recent fights]. I think I can keep up. Guys like Eryk Anders and who you're losing to [in the UFC], I'm not losing those fights these days. That's what I'm seeing. "People age differently. I have aged well, trust me. If I'm healthy, I'm going to all-out flow, and I'll be slicker than most anybody out there. So I know what I'm capable of, I just gotta get in shape. Obviously, my last time out I fought Joe Schilling on three weeks' notice or less [for Karate Combat this past April], and I broke my nose again, fought through it, got the knockout. So I expect to have a full training camp and be ready to go and f***ing ice this guy. Put him to sleep." Rockhold and Weidman, 40, have both fought at light heavyweight in the past despite their careers primarily taking place at middleweight. There's been no indication yet as to which weight class a GFL rematch would be held, but Rockhold favors the heavier weight class after turning 40 this past October. But GFL still must prove that it can be a player in the MMA industry. With several handfuls of notable names and former UFC champions like Rockhold and Weidman on the roster, the foundation is in place. Rockhold likes what he's seen so far and is excited to get back to the sport he made his name in. "There's money behind it," Rockhold said of GFL. "They're taking care of me thus far, and they've got a lot of potential fights that are fun. "I miss mixed martial arts. My legs were so beat up after the Paulo Costa fight [in 2022] and injuries and different things, so it was nice to take a break. I wanted to pursue some other things, but I've gotten healthier, and really, MMA is what I'm best at. I still have some fire left in me, and I'd love to test that out." Rockhold has competed three times outside of MMA since leaving the UFC following a unanimous decision loss to Costa. Rockhold first took the gloves off for a detour into bare-knuckle boxing against Mike Perry in BKFC in 2023, which Perry won via second-round knockout. Rockhold then entered the Karate Kickboxing pit and rebounded with a nasty third-round knockout of Schilling. After Rockhold followed that with a grappling loss to Pat Downey at the Craig Jones Invitational, he was offered a spot on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul undercard. A back injury ultimately prevented Rockhold from accepting a boxing match against Viddal Riley, but he still likes the idea of competing in the sweet science. Rockhold's ideal opponent for a boxing showcase? Fellow UFC veteran Darren Till. "I hurt my back pretty bad going into that CJI thing. I had to get steroid cortisone injections before that. It's been a little bit, but I'm healthy now," Rockhold said. "I think Darren Till is f***ing great. I'd love to swing and test myself against someone like that. We'll see who else. I mean, Viddal Riley, I still like that fight, honestly. Give me eight weeks, give me 10 weeks when I'm healthy for an eight-round boxing match. I'm going to f***ing need my legs, so I just got to be healthy for it. But all these guys, I like [for potential fights]." Till has boxed twice since leaving the UFC in early 2023. He first stopped Mohammad Mutie before most recently knocking out Anthony Taylor in Round 6 of their Misfits Boxing clash in January. Rockhold believes he'd provide Till with a much stiffer challenge than Taylor did. "I can't take that guy any serious," Rockhold said of Taylor. "He's pretty bad, the way everything about what he does and how he throws punches. "I didn't really see [their fight], I just saw the knockout. Till, he's good, he's a pretty clean boxer, for sure. He's got skills. I like it, just give me some time."
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luke Rockhold vows to 'ice' Chris Weidman in GFL rematch, wants to box Darren Till after
Luke Rockhold is already on the move with Global Fight League (GFL). When GFL unveiled complete rosters for each of its six teams. Rockhold was drafted as a middleweight for Team Dubai, led by his old American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez. However, Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani confirmed Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show" that the former UFC middleweight champion has been traded to GFL's Team LA in order to put together a Chris Weidman rematch. The promotion is expected to launch in April, and Rockhold very much wants that fight. "Weidman and me, it makes the most sense, I think, and it's fun," Rockhold said. "I think there's rumors of a fight coming here to LA, and I'm healthy, man. I'm healthy and I'm training and back to it. So, Weidman, I'd love to close that door, as Dricus [du Plessis] would say. I think I already closed it [at UFC 194], but I'm going to secure that bag, get the fight." Rockhold and Weidman's history dates back to 2015, when they met in UFC 194's co-main event as a high-profile appetizer to the much-anticipated Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor showdown. Rockhold ultimately made good on the opportunity, finishing the then-undefeated Weidman with a fourth-round barrage of strikes to capture the UFC middleweight championship in brutal fashion. Nine years later, both former champions are now under the GFL umbrella, with Weidman on Team New York. A rematch was supposed to happen at UFC 199 in 2016, but injury forced Weidman to withdraw two weeks out from fight night, resulting in Michael Bisping's historic underdog win over Rockhold. After parting ways with UFC in December, Weidman joined GFL mere days later, citing a potential Rockhold rematch as one of the reasons he was most interested in joining the promotion. If and when that fight gets booked, Rockhold expects to end it to end similarly to the first for Weidman. "Let's see how it goes, I like my chances this time around," Rockhold said. "I think Weidman is a little slower than I've come off [in recent fights]. I think I can keep up. Guys like Eryk Anders and who you're losing to [in the UFC], I'm not losing those fights these days. That's what I'm seeing. "People age differently. I have aged well, trust me. If I'm healthy, I'm going to all-out flow, and I'll be slicker than most anybody out there. So I know what I'm capable of, I just gotta get in shape. Obviously, my last time out I fought Joe Schilling on three weeks' notice or less [for Karate Combat this past April], and I broke my nose again, fought through it, got the knockout. So I expect to have a full training camp and be ready to go and f***ing ice this guy. Put him to sleep." Rockhold and Weidman have both fought at light heavyweight in the past despite their careers primarily taking place at middleweight. There's been no indication yet as to which weight class a GFL rematch would be held at, but Rockhold favors the heavier weight class after turning 40 this past October. But GFL still must prove that it can be a player in the MMA industry. With several handfuls of notable names and former UFC champions like Rockhold and Weidman on the roster, the foundation is in place. Rockhold likes what he's seen so far and is excited to get back to the sport he made his name in. "There's money behind it," Rockhold said of GFL. "They're taking care of me thus far, and they've got a lot of potential fights that are fun. "I miss mixed martial arts. My legs were so beat up after the Paulo Costa fight [in 2022] and injuries and different things, so it was nice to take a break. I wanted to pursue some other things, but I've gotten healthier, and really, MMA is what I'm best at. I still have some fire left in me, and I'd love to test that out." Rockhold has competed three times outside of MMA since leaving the UFC following a unanimous decision loss to Costa. Rockhold first took the gloves off for a detour into bare-knuckle boxing against Mike Perry in BKFC in 2023, which Perry won via second-round knockout. Rockhold then entered the Karate Kickboxing pit and rebounded with a nasty third-round knockout of Joe Schilling. After Rockhold followed that with a grappling loss to Pat Downey at the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), he was offered a spot on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul undercard. A back injury ultimately prevented Rockhold from accepting a boxing match against Viddal Riley, but he still likes the idea of competing in the sweet science. Rockhold's ideal opponent for a boxing showcase? Fellow UFC veteran Darren Till. "I hurt my back pretty bad going into that CJI thing. I had to get steroid cortisone injections before that. It's been a little bit, but I'm healthy now," Rockhold said. "I think Darren Till is f***ing great. I'd love to swing and test myself against someone like that. We'll see who else. I mean, Viddal Riley, I still like that fight, honestly. Give me eight weeks, give me 10 weeks when I'm healthy for an eight-round boxing match. I'm going to f***ing need my legs, so I just got to be healthy for it. But all these guys, I like [for potential fights]." Till has boxed twice since leaving the UFC in early 2023. He first stopped Mohammad Mutie before most recently knocking out Anthony Taylor in Round 6 of their Misfits Boxing clash in January. Rockhold believes he'd provide Till with a much stiffer challenge than Taylor did. "I can't take that guy any serious," Rockhold said of Taylor. "He's pretty bad, the way everything about what he does and how he throws punches. "I didn't really see [their fight], I just saw the knockout. Till, he's good, he's a pretty clean boxer, for sure. He's got skills. I like it, just give me some time."
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chris Weidman wants Luke Rockhold rematch for GFL debut: 'They're really putting their money where their mouth is'
Chris Weidman wasted no time jumping ship after announcing his UFC departure. As the new kid on the MMA block, the Global Fight League (GFL) is attempting to sweep up as many notables name as possible, including fighters fresh off the UFC roster like Weidman and Tony Ferguson. Weidman's career has been nearing its end since his catastrophic leg break in 2021 against Uriah Hall; however, he's fought three times since then, and instead of retiring after his latest loss — a second-round knockout to Eryk Anders — he departed the UFC and now joins GFL on the promotion's New York team. Speaking to Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," Weidman shared how his involvement in the upstart league came together. 'I think it was right around the time where my manager was telling me that it's probably not a thing," Weidman said. "He was calling [GFL] and they were talking, but I didn't think it was going anywhere, to be honest. I was cool with it either way. It was really after that that things started moving fast, which is weird. "Everybody thought I was retiring. I did leave it open that I'm open to other opportunities. I'm closing the chapter with the UFC, I'm retiring from the UFC, but I understand a lot of people thought I was just retiring from MMA — which, I didn't know if I was. I thought I probably was retiring from MMA, but now I'm excited. I didn't realize I'd have all these different matchups [available to me in the GFL] — like a guy like Luke Rockhold, that's a matchup that not only I always wanted back, but the fans really always wanted to see for a long time. We were supposed to rematch twice and it didn't happen, so that's a cool opportunity. You got [Gegard] Mousasi, you got Uriah Hall, Yoel Romero. There's some fun fights that are really going to make me get into the gym and want to really train hard for.' GFL's official introduction came this past Friday when the promotion aired its "draft" live, unveiling all 120 fighters on the inaugural six teams. According to GFL founder Darren Owen, the promotion plans to launch its first event in April and may hold three shows in two days on certain weekends. Even though he's on the New York team, former UFC middleweight champ Weidman is still relatively in the dark about details, but he remains optimistic for another strong UFC alternative. 'I'm hoping this thing plays out," Weidman said. "I hope they're successful. It's a very tough business. I would think that you don't want to really compete with the UFC. That shouldn't be the goal. I don't think that's something that really can be done at this point, but I think there's a lot of room to make a lot of money to put on great fights, so I don't really know. 'The business side of it sounds amazing for the fighters, they're doing the right thing for the fighters. I just don't know if [it's going to work in the long run]. I'm hoping it's sustainable. I hope that they're just really good business guys and they've looked at the numbers, and they see how they could be profitable with this, and it's something that continues. Not just for me, but for the future, for MMA fighters. I think it's always good to have other promotions that fighters have the opportunity to fight in, and you can make good money, and they're doing a lot of cool things, man. "They're trying to set up retirement for the fighters, medical for the fighters and their families, 50/50 profit sharing. I mean, they're really putting their money where their mouth is and trying to do the best for the fighters they possibly can. We'll see if it's something that is sustainable and something that really could make it far.' Weidman, 40, watched his stock drop precipitously in his final five UFC outings; by the end, he was battling with unranked fighters and had fallen to prelims. In the GFL, though, he's reenergized by the idea of redemption against old foes — Rockhold, in particular. In 2015, Weidman's undefeated 13-0 run met a brutal end at UFC 194 courtesy of Rockhold, who snatched Weidman's middleweight title with an infamous fourth-round knockout. The stars never aligned for Weidman to get his rematch, but now he wants to finish that story in GFL. 'I would love Luke Rockhold, [that] would be my first fight," Weidman said. "We have the most history. I know I lost to those other guys, but the Rockhold one was my first loss. I lost my belt against him, we had animosity and all that stuff. There's build-up, and we were supposed to rematch twice. I think it's a fun fight for the fans, that people would be super interested in watching. I mean, when fans come up to me, it's one thing that comes up pretty regularly — they want me to get the rematch with Rockhold. They want me to get that one back, and I'm with them.' It also doesn't hurt that GFL appears to be opening its wallet for all these well-known names. While he declined to provide specifics, Weidman isn't complaining about the numbers coming his way. 'Oh yeah, yes, yeah, very much so. Very good,' Weidman answered when asked if he was being financially taken care of.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chris Weidman wants Luke Rockhold rematch for GFL debut: 'They're really putting their money where their mouth is'
Chris Weidman wasted no time jumping ship after announcing his UFC departure. As the new kid on the MMA block, the Global Fight League (GFL) is attempting to sweep up as many notables name as possible, including fighters fresh off the UFC roster like Weidman and Tony Ferguson. Weidman's career has been nearing its end since his catastrophic leg break in 2021 against Uriah Hall; however, he's fought three times since then, and instead of retiring after his latest loss — a second-round knockout to Eryk Anders — he departed the UFC and now joins GFL on the promotion's New York team. Speaking to Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," Weidman shared how his involvement in the upstart league came together. 'I think it was right around the time where my manager was telling me that it's probably not a thing," Weidman said. "He was calling [GFL] and they were talking, but I didn't think it was going anywhere, to be honest. I was cool with it either way. It was really after that that things started moving fast, which is weird. "Everybody thought I was retiring. I did leave it open that I'm open to other opportunities. I'm closing the chapter with the UFC, I'm retiring from the UFC, but I understand a lot of people thought I was just retiring from MMA — which, I didn't know if I was. I thought I probably was retiring from MMA, but now I'm excited. I didn't realize I'd have all these different matchups [available to me in the GFL] — like a guy like Luke Rockhold, that's a matchup that not only I always wanted back, but the fans really always wanted to see for a long time. We were supposed to rematch twice and it didn't happen, so that's a cool opportunity. You got [Gegard] Mousasi, you got Uriah Hall, Yoel Romero. There's some fun fights that are really going to make me get into the gym and want to really train hard for.' GFL's official introduction came this past Friday when the promotion aired its "draft" live, unveiling all 120 fighters on the inaugural six teams. According to GFL founder Darren Owen, the promotion plans to launch its first event in April and may hold three shows in two days on certain weekends. Even though he's on the New York team, former UFC middleweight champ Weidman is still relatively in the dark about details, but he remains optimistic for another strong UFC alternative. 'I'm hoping this thing plays out," Weidman said. "I hope they're successful. It's a very tough business. I would think that you don't want to really compete with the UFC. That shouldn't be the goal. I don't think that's something that really can be done at this point, but I think there's a lot of room to make a lot of money to put on great fights, so I don't really know. 'The business side of it sounds amazing for the fighters, they're doing the right thing for the fighters. I just don't know if [it's going to work in the long run]. I'm hoping it's sustainable. I hope that they're just really good business guys and they've looked at the numbers, and they see how they could be profitable with this, and it's something that continues. Not just for me, but for the future, for MMA fighters. I think it's always good to have other promotions that fighters have the opportunity to fight in, and you can make good money, and they're doing a lot of cool things, man. "They're trying to set up retirement for the fighters, medical for the fighters and their families, 50/50 profit sharing. I mean, they're really putting their money where their mouth is and trying to do the best for the fighters they possibly can. We'll see if it's something that is sustainable and something that really could make it far.' Weidman, 40, watched his stock drop precipitously in his final five UFC outings; by the end, he was battling with unranked fighters and had fallen to prelims. In the GFL, though, he's reenergized by the idea of redemption against old foes — Rockhold, in particular. In 2015, Weidman's undefeated 13-0 run met a brutal end at UFC 194 courtesy of Rockhold, who snatched Weidman's middleweight title with an infamous fourth-round knockout. The stars never aligned for Weidman to get his rematch, but now he wants to finish that story in GFL. 'I would love Luke Rockhold, [that] would be my first fight," Weidman said. "We have the most history. I know I lost to those other guys, but the Rockhold one was my first loss. I lost my belt against him, we had animosity and all that stuff. There's build-up, and we were supposed to rematch twice. I think it's a fun fight for the fans, that people would be super interested in watching. I mean, when fans come up to me, it's one thing that comes up pretty regularly — they want me to get the rematch with Rockhold. They want me to get that one back, and I'm with them.' It also doesn't hurt that GFL appears to be opening its wallet for all these well-known names. While he declined to provide specifics, Weidman isn't complaining about the numbers coming his way. 'Oh yeah, yes, yeah, very much so. Very good,' Weidman answered when asked if he was being financially taken care of.
USA Today
27-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Chris Weidman addresses 'elephant in the room' after signing with GFL following UFC retirement
Chris Weidman's name appearing in the Global Fight League draft confused many. That's because longtime UFC fighter Weidman (16-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) had just announced his retirement less than 10 days ago, before opting to continue fighting. The former UFC middleweight champion, who was Team New York's second pick in the GFL draft, explained his decision to join the league. He sees big opportunities to avenge prior career losses. 'The elephant in the room is I just retired from the UFC,' Weidman said during the GFL broadcast. 'A lot of people thought I was done fighting. I didn't know. I thought maybe I am done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but it had to be good. 'This is a league where there's a lot of guys that I have a history with. You've got Luke Rockhold, you've got Gegard Mousasi, you've got Uriah Hall. Rockhold was my first loss ever. That was a tough pill for me to swallow. We were supposed to rematch a bunch of times in UFC, but it never happened. So that would be a fight I'd love to have. Uriah Hall broke my damn leg in my last fight. He was a gentleman about it, but we had fought twice. '… It's older dudes that I have a lot of history with. I love to compete and we make a whole lot of money. It's not something I really feel like I can say no to. It's really an exciting time for me.' Weidman, 40, most recently competed at UFC 310 this past December when he was knocked out by Eryk Anders in the second round.
