Michael Bisping Faces Luke Rockhold at UFC 199

Michael Bisping Faces Luke Rockhold at UFC 199

Just one day after FloCombat broke the news that Chris Weidman was forced to withdraw from his UFC 199 bout against Luke Rockhold, a replacement as stepped

May 18, 2016 by Jeremy Botter
Michael Bisping Faces Luke Rockhold at UFC 199
Just one day after FloCombat broke the news that Chris Weidman was forced to withdraw from his UFC 199 bout against Luke Rockhold, a replacement as stepped up to fill Weidman's shoes.

Nearly ten years to the day he won The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping will receive his first UFC title shot on the June 4 card. Bisping, coming off a career-defining win over Anderson Silva earlier this year, agreed to replace Weidman on short notice. 

UFC president Dana White announced the news on SportsCenter this morning.  White said the fight that made the most sense for Rockhold was Ronaldo Souza, who demolished the aging Vitor Belfort last weekend. But Souza injured his meniscus in the win and wasn't available, so Bisping was the logical next choice. 

Rockhold already owns a victory over Bisping. The current UFC middleweight champion submitted Bisping in 2014. But the bad blood that built up going into their first fight still exists, and Rockhold is excited to face Bisping once more. 

Rockhold took the title from Weidman in December at UFC 194. Bisping strung together three consecutive victories to finally put himself in line for a title shot. He was long considered one of the most marketable and popular fighters to never receive a title shot, but he'll finally get the chance he has chased after for a decade.