Fresh off his dismantling of Vitor Belfort, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will return to the Octagon later this year against top contender Luke Rockhold.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the matchup Wednesday night on FOX Sports 1, however a date and venue has yet to be determined with the UFC holding out hope it can happen in Weidman’s home state of New York if MMA becomes legalized there in 2015.
Weidman improved to 13-0 last month after a first-round TKO win over Belfort in the co-main event of UFC 187.
Rockhold, the former Strikeforce champion, is riding a four-fight win streak with stoppage wins over Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Michael Bisping and recently improved to 14-2 a submission of former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in April.