Luke Rockhold and Costa Philippou Take Aim at the Middleweight Title Picture in UFC Fight Night 35 Main Event

By Raphael Garcia

Tonight, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will feature its second card of 2014, UFC Fight Night 35. Although this event has flown under the radar, the main event is a very important matchup in a middleweight division that is now wide open for new challengers. Two of the UFC’s top ten 185-pound fighters are facing off, as Luke Rockhold vs. Costa Philippou is set for five rounds of action, and based on the two athletes involved, this is shaping up to be a strong contest. However, there are significant factors that favor Rockhold in this fight.

Rockhold and Philippou are two standup fighters that bring the type of pace to fights that mainstream MMA fans desire. However, Rockhold carries a very diverse skill set into the cage that he has been known to mix up against opponents. And outside of being blitzed by current number one middleweight contender Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 8, Rockhold has controlled fights with his elusive style of striking. When paired with the boxing-heavy Philippou, this creates a dynamic of two fighters capable of intense exchanges, but one — Rockhold — possessing the ability to mix in a variety of kicks from range, which gives him an advantage in this area.

What makes the situation worse for the New York native Philippou is that he’s been prone to being hit more than he hits his opponents. According to Fight Metric reports, Philippou lands only 2.39 strikes per minute, while taking 2.45. This may not seem like a large advantage, but Philippou has yet to face a striker as good as Rockhold at any point in his career.

As mentioned before, Rockhold has the ability to mix in a wide range of offensive weapons. He has serviceable wrestling skills, but tends to use them in a defensive manner. However, if Rockhold hits a key takedown at any point in a round, his grappling abilities should be sufficient to control the action. The former Strikeforce champion is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and was able to survive the likes of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in their title fight, so he shouldn’t have a huge challenge controlling Philippou in this fight.

Even the fact that this fight is a five-round main event plays to Rockhold’s advantage. In recent fights, Phillippou has faded in later rounds. And while he has pushed through to remain aggressive in those fights, he’s never competed for 25 minutes. Rockhold, on the other hand, stays very active in later rounds. For example, he kept such a frantic pace against Tim Kennedy back in 2012 that he was able to wear down the former Army Ranger to the point of fatigue, one of the only opponents to do so.

In interviews leading up to this fight, Luke Rockhold has said it loud and clear that he believes he will be able to outpace Costa Philippou in such a way that will open up opportunities to finish the fight. And based on the advantages that he holds, that isn’t terribly far-fetched. However, Philippou has been the underdog in the past, and it seems like he’s ready to play that role once again. In this important main event fight at UFC Fight Night 35, he has the chance to upset the sixth-ranked fighter in the middleweight division. But regardless of whether that happens, this is a very tough test for both athletes, and in a division that has become one of the most intriguing in the sport over the least 12 months, a victory should give the winner solid footing, and the attention of MMA fans.