The UFC has yet to name the next challenger for Chris Weidman's middleweight title, but the 185-pound king recently shared his thoughts on the matter.
After wiping out Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort at UFC 187 in the first round, Weidman is sitting pretty in the division. He's looking better and better with each outing, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to imagine anybody dethroning him.
There are, however, two beastly challengers waiting in the wings.
Common sense says either Luke Rockhold or Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the division, respectively, will get the next crack at Weidman's crown. Which man the UFC picks, however, is anybody's guess.
To Weidman, the UFC's decision ultimately doesn't matter, but he does see one man as slightly more dangerous in the cage.
"I would expect a tough fighter, but I'm running right through any of these guys," Weidman told Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.
"[Rockhold]'s well rounded, but he's not great anywhere. He's not the best striker I've ever fought, he's not the best jiu-jitsu guy I ever fought. Jacare brings a different element, he's really good on the ground and he's probably more dangerous on the feet than Rockhold. Rockhold is well rounded and keeps a good solid pace going throughout the whole fight.
"They are two completely different fighters. If I was to say who was more dangerous, it would probably be Jacare, but there are probably more holes in his game than Rockhold."
There's no doubt that Jacare is a scary man.
He's a world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner who has earned 16 of his 22 victories via submission. Of his other six wins, two were knockouts, and both came within the past three years.
His stand-up is constantly getting better, and that undoubtedly played into Weidman's analysis.
But Rockhold is no joke either, and the American Kickboxing Academy product could represent Weidman's toughest challenger to date.
Since losing to Belfort in May 2013, Rockhold has won four straight fights, three via submission and one via knockout. While this is impressive on its own, when you add in the names he defeated—Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Michael Bisping and Lyoto Machida—his recent run becomes even more remarkable.
Whichever man Weidman gets next will be a worthy challenger, and the middleweight division is only getting better with time. How long Weidman can continue pushing contenders back down the mountain remains to be seen, but right now he looks poised for a long run at the top, regardless of his opponent.
