One of the longest reigning contenders in the Middleweight division will finally see his title shot.
Following the injury to former champion Chris Weidman that would remove him from the UFC 199 pay-per-view headliner, the UFC was on the hunt for a contender that would be willing to take on Luke Rockhold on short notice. Michael Bisping was quick to take to twitter and showing a willingness to take on the new champion.
While Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was the first choice from the promotion, the Brazilian contender required a knee surgery following his one-round domination of Vitor Belfort last Saturday at UFC 198. Leaving Bisping open to take his long awaited title shot.
Bisping (28-7 MMA, 18-7 in UFC) is currently riding a three-fight winning streak and is also coming off the biggest win of his career after taking a judges decision victory over former long-time champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Bisping currently holds the most fights ever in UFC Middleweight history and also holds the record for the longest active fighter in the UFC to have never fought for a UFC championship. That will finally come to an end on June 4th. Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping met before in November of 2014 where Rockhold won via Guillotine submission in the first round.
UFC 199 takes place June 4 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card, including the Rockhold vs. Bisping headliner, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 199 full card:
- Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping (UFC Middleweight championship)
- Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber (UFC Bantamweight champion)
- Max Holloway vs. Ricardo Lamas
- Dan Henderson vs. Hector Lombard
- Bobby Green vs. Dustin Poirier
- Cole Miller vs. B.J. Penn
- Clay Guida vs. Brian Ortega
- Beneil Dariush vs. James Vick
- Jessica Andrade vs. Jessica Penne
- Tom Breese vs. Sean Strickland
- Luiz Henrique da Silva vs. Jonathan Wilson
- Kevin Casey vs. Elvis Mutapcic
- “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim vs. Polo Reyes