UFC president Dana White made the announcement on Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s SportsCenter.
White said Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was their first choice, but Souza suffered a torn meniscus in Saturday’s quick victory over Vitor Belfort. Therefore, based on the current middleweight rankings where Bisping comes in at #4 (see, the UFC rankings do actually count for something…) “The Count” gets the nod.
Rockhold has won 14 of his past 15 fights, including five straight wins en route to capturing the middleweight throne. He submitted Bisping just three fights ago at UFC Fight Night 55.
Bisping is perfect through his past three outings.