Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold Prediction/ Breakdown

Keys to victory for Chris Weidman:

In order for Chris Weidman to beat Luke Rockhold he has to constantly move forward while using his striking as a way to keep Rockhold at distance and slowly backwards until he can get Rockhold up against the cage to attempt a takedown. To implement this strategy, Weidman should throw a good amount of front kicks and straight left or right hands. While these strikes come at a very speed due to the fact that he tends to lunge forward just as he throws the punch because he wants to make his opponent believe that he is shooting for a takedown. Rockhold still has to respect his striking due to the power so Rockhold will take one or two steps back or to the side. If Weidman is able to able to get the takedown he will look to transition to mount to land ground and pound

Keys to victory for Luke Rockhold:

In order for Luke Rockhold to beat Chris Weidman, he's going to have to depend on his boxing and counter striking skills because if he throws his trademark left kick to the body. There is a high likelihood that Weidman will catch the kick and push it to the side and attempt a takedown similar to what he did against Lyoto Machida. The only way Rockhold can throw throws his trademark left kick to the body is as a counter strike when Weidman tends to lunge forward just as he throws the punch he won't be able to catch the kick so Rockhold can take one or two steps to the side and kick. In this fight Rockhold should aim to throw his right jab a little bit more because the jab will prevent Weidman from constantly moving forward for a few seconds since Weidman will be trying to figure out how to get around the jab those few seconds will be enough time for Rockhold to get out of takedown distance. Rockhold can also use his straight left as a counter strike as said above Weidman tends to lunge forward just as he throws the punch, as a result, Weidman leaves his face wide open to be countered.

Ultimately Luke Rockhold will have enough time to get out of takedown and striking distance because Weidman's strikes come at a very speed due to the fact that he tends to lunge forward just as he throws the punch because he wants to make his opponent believe that he is shooting for a takedown. This will leave him open to counter strikes all fight long.

Winner: Luke Rockhold