Englishman Michael Bisping is the man that has been selected to replace Chris Weidman at UFC 199. Bisping will face current middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC 199.
UFC President Dana White announced the news on ESPN’s SportsCenter earlier today.
Rockhold (15-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) went 4-0 with four finishes following his debut knockout loss to Vitor Belfort before fighting for the middleweight title. Rockhold faced then champion Weidman at UFC 194 and won the bout in the fourth round. The Californian has already dispatched of Bisping once, submitting “The Count” in the main event of UFC Fight Night 55.
Bisping (28-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) is finally getting his long awaited title shot. The Brit has been on the verge of a title shot time and time again but has always fallen at the final hurdle. He now has his time to not only capture the middleweight championship, but get his revenge on Luke Rockhold. Since the loss to Rockhold, which was the first time Bisping has ever been submitted, Bisping has gone 3-0. Bisping took home a decision victory over CB Dolloway at UFC 186 before taking a split decision after a back and forth war with Thales Leites at UFC Glasgow. Most recently, Bisping fought one of the greatest fighters of all time in the main event of the UFC’s return show to London. Bisping and Anderson Silva fought for five hard round in a thrilling fight with Bisping taking home a narrow decision in his home country.
UFC 199 takes place live from The Forum in Inglewood, California on June 4, 2016. Also on the card, Dominick Cruz will attempt to defend his bantamweight strap against bitter rival Urijah Faber.
