Luke Rockhold lies on the floor after beating Chris Weidman at UFC 194, inset throwback banner. Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC champion didn’t regret decision that cost him his title because he was ‘happy’ about losing

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Dec 13, 2025 12:04 AM ET

On this day ten years ago, a UFC champion cost himself his title with a baffling decision inside the Octagon.

UFC 194 in Las Vegas ended with Conor McGregor comforting Jose Aldo after ending his iconic featherweight title reign in 13 seconds.

What some may have forgotten about one of the most iconic UFC fights of all time is that it was the second of two title fights that took place on that night.

McGregor may have celebrated after becoming a UFC champion for the first time but he wasn’t the only man who achieved this feat at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

A title challenger’s pursuit of the gold was aided by a moment of improvisation from his opponent that didn’t end well for him.

Chris Weidman didn’t blame his ill-advised kick for his loss to Luke Rockhold at UFC 194

Conor McGregor’s knockout of Jose Aldo understandably stole the headlines at UFC 194 on December 12 in 2015.

However, the co-main event also produced some big talking points after Chris Weidman lost his middleweight title when attempting to make his fourth defense of the belt.

The man who dethroned Anderson Silva faced his first American challenger in Las Vegas when taking on the former Strikeforce champion, Luke Rockhold.

A back and forth battle shifted towards the challenger after his opponent made a decision that immediately backfired.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Weidman attempted a wheel kick, only for Rockhold to duck under it and become the first man to take the champion down, immediately following up with vicious ground and pound that earned him the stoppage win.

When breaking his silence on the loss, Weidman said on The MMA Hour the following month that he didn’t blame that one decision for his loss and was actually happy to have lost so that he could learn valuable lessons from his first defeat.

“I don’t regret doing that, because I’m happy I lost,” Weidman reiterated. “Everybody has been talking about the kick, and I do feel like I was winning the fight, but I was running on like two cylinders and I feel like I deserved to lose that fight, and I’m happy I did.

“It’s not the spinning back kick that I’m really critical on myself about,” Weidman continued. “Was it a pretty spinning back kick? Did it change the momentum of the fight? Definitely. But there’s things that I should’ve been doing that I didn’t do as soon as I hit the ground, and there’s reasons I didn’t, and there’s things that I’m excited about to change, to do things differently.”

Chris Weidman was set to try and get revenge over Luke Rockhold the following year

Chris Weidman would have had the opportunity to correct the mistakes he made in a rematch with Luke Rockhold that was scheduled for UFC 199 the following June.

However, around two weeks out from the fight, the former champion was forced to withdraw from the rematch due to an injury.

Michael Bisping went on to beat Rockhold for the title in a stunning upset win after taking Weidman’s place on short notice.

Weidman, who returned later that year, was knocked out by Yoel Romero at UFC 205, leaving the middleweight division in a completely different place to where it was one year prior.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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