‘Top 5’ Ep. I: UFC Best Fighters Of 2015

3. Luke Rockhold
Rockhold is our #3 pick and rightfully so as he’s without a doubt a pound-for-pound machine when enters the octagon. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2013 and all his fights afterward has either been won via submission or TKO. You can’t get any dangerous than that.

The fans clamored for a Machida/Rockhold fight, but the results would leave the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion; Lyoto Machida defeated via submission in the second round. Rockhold also earned his second consecutive Performance of the Night bonus award.

Rockhold is known to be a well-balanced fighter in the UFC. Some would even argue that he’s possibly the best pure athlete in the UFC today, but that’s only a matter of opinion. The signature strikes Rockhold has done him justice in the octagon. The counter right hook, liver kick and question mark kick (which he usually throws off the front leg).

Even with that it wasn’t enough as Rockhold would set his sights on the UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman. Rockhold entered the bout with plenty of momentum being considered as one of the most devastating finishers in the division. Throughout the rounds, Weidman absorbed a ton of kicks from his opponent.

In addition, Rockhold’s counter punching game caught Weidman clean a number of times. In the third round, Rockhold capitalized on one of Weidman’s weak wheel kicks by taking him down into the back mount and battering him until the end of the round.

The fight was nearly called off if not for referee Herb Dean and the bell coming to Weidman’s rescue. In the fourth round, Rockhold kept pressing with punches and secured a successful take-down and after passing into full mount, hammered away at Weidman.

Before long, Herb Dean called a stop to the fight. Rockhold won the fight via TKO in the fourth round and became the 7th middleweight champion in UFC history, thereby ending Weidman’s undefeated reign in the UFC. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors.

2016 will definitely test the reign for Luke Rockhold as champion or will show that he’s time-tested champion only to be marveled in the UFC.

(Continue to page 2: #2: Ronda Rousey |  On Page 3: #1: Conor McGregor)