– Paul Dollery reports from Las Vegas

CHRIS WEIDMAN IS no longer the UFC middleweight champion.

Weidman was stopped after 3:12 of the fourth round of tonight’s UFC 194 co-main event by Luke Rockhold, who inflicted a first career defeat on the New York native.

After a close first round which could have gone either way, Rockhold had the better of the second. But the third round round was where the challenger undoubtedly pulled ahead.

With Weidman struggling, Rockhold managed to get full mount and rained down punches and elbows which left the champion’s face bloodied. A stoppage seemed imminent but, much to Rockhold’s surprise, referee Herb Dean allowed Weidman to weather the storm and it headed for the championship rounds.

Nevertheless, the former Strikeforce title-holder picked up where he left off after the restart and eventually convinced Dean that Weidman had endured enough, crowning Rockhold the new king of the 185lbs division.

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