UFC 194 Post-Mortem: Second to None

Luke Rockhold has completed his long climb to the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 185-pound weight class.

Rockhold stopped Chris Weidman with fourth-round ground-and-pound to capture the undisputed middleweight championship in the UFC 194 “Aldo vs. McGregor” co-main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. For the former Strikeforce titleholder, it served as a gigantic middle finger to his detractors.

“I’ve been saying for a long time I believe I’ve been the best in this sport for a long time,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “People want to beat down my Strikeforce accomplishments and what I did. I knew I’d come in there and I’d outperform him and get the job done, no matter what I faced going into this fight.”

Weidman succumbed to punches 3:12 into round four, but his fate was sealed in the third. There, Rockhold countered a poorly conceived and executed wheel kick, took the “All-American” to the ground and pounded on him with elbows and punches from mount. According to FightMetric data, he landed 83 total strikes in the round, 68 of them significant and many of them over the final 90 seconds.

“I couldn’t believe he came back in the fourth round,” Rockhold said, echoing the sentiments of many.

Rockhold attributed his success to the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., where he trains alongside former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and reigning UFC light heavyweight titleholder Daniel Cormier on a daily basis.

“This is an iron-sharpens-iron world, and you can only get so good being a big fish in a small pound,” he said. “I get the butterflies every day I go into training. I’ve got to spar Cain and Cormier, and if I’m off my game, I’m going to get beat up. So I’ve got to raise my level every day I come in the gym, and they’ve got to do the same. We’ve been pushing each other for so long, and that’s the reason we are where we are. You’ve got to get around the best people you can.”

The loss was the first of Weidman’s career. Rockhold expects to see the Serra-Longo Fight Team standout again in the not-too-distant future.

“I know he’s a tough guy, and I think he’s a cut above, technically and obviously [in terms of] toughness,” he said. “I wasn’t joking when I said before [that] I really believe that I’ll have the advantage wherever the fight goes whenever we get in there. I think he’ll come back, but I’ll put him right back down. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but these guys aren’t competing with me. I don’t see anybody out there.”

Tornado Warning

Undefeated American Top Team export Tecia Torres further entrenched herself as a contender in the UFC women’s strawweight division with a unanimous decision over Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger on the undercard.

Torres, who was originally booked opposite former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Michelle Waterson, took the change in opponent in stride. Her crisp combination punching and superior clinch game carried her past Jones-Lybarger, helping to set up more meaningful bouts at 115 pounds for “The Tiny Tornado.” The 26-year-old Torres has won all seven of her pro fights by unanimous decision.

“I felt like it was one of my more dominant wins,” she said. “My next fight, I hope I get a top 10, at least, or maybe a top five opponent so I can showcase more of what I can do.”

Miscellaneous Debris

Conor McGregor became the fourth European fighter to claim undisputed UFC gold with his 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo in the main event. He joins Bas Rutten, Andrei Arlovski and Joanna Jedrzejczyk ... Yoel Romero improved to 7-0 inside the Octagon with a split decision over Ronaldo Souza, likely cementing him as the No. 1 contender at 185 pounds. He called Rockhold “a fantastic fighter” when asked about the newly minted champion ... Demian Maia outpaced Gunnar Nelson 193-7 in total strikes and 47-2 in significant strikes, securing a clear-cut verdict in their three-round welterweight showcase. The 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist has rattled off four straight wins since suffering back-to-back losses to Rory MacDonald and Jake Shields. “I want to go for the title. I truly believe I can beat anyone in this division,” Maia said ... Opponents have now whiffed on their last 26 takedown attempts against Hawaiian featherweight Max Holloway, a unanimous decision winner over Jeremy Stephens on the main card.

Etc.

UFC 194 “Aldo vs. McGregor” drew an announced crowd of 16,516 to the MGM Grand Garden Arena -- the largest audience to witness an Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas. It was good for a $10.1 million gate.

A Look Ahead

Rafael dos Anjos will defend the lightweight championship in a rematch against Donald Cerrone atop UFC on Fox 17 this Saturday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. Heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem will meet in the co-headliner. Fox (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), Fox Sports 1 (5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT) and UFC Fight Pass (3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT) will provide coverage of the event.