Hempstead, N.Y. – Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion and Hofstra alumnus Chris Weidman will look to defend his title for a fourth time this Saturday, December 12 when he faces the top-ranked contender Luke Rockhold to co-headline UFC 194 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The Weidman-Rockhold fight will air on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. The 12-card fight card will get underway with three early preliminaries beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. Fox Sports 1 will televise four preliminaries beginning at 8 p.m. followed by the five fight main card, which is set to begin at 10 p.m.

Weidman returns to the octagon for the first time since May 23 when he defended his title for a third time with a first round knockout win over Vitor Belfort in Las Vegas.  His knockout win earned him the performance of the night award.

Weidman, who grabbed the UFC middleweight title on July 6, 2013 with a second round knockout of Anderson Silva in UFC 162, defended his title for the first time on December 28, 2013 with a second round TKO by injury of Silva in UFC 168. He would win a unanimous decision over former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in UFC 175 on July 5, 2014.

Weidman (13-0 Mixed Martial Arts, 9-0 UFC) will put his 185-pound weight class crown on the line against the former two-time Strikeforce champion Rockhold (14-2 MMA, 13-6 UFC). The 31-year-old Weidman, who is nicknamed "The All-American", has a one-inch reach advantage over the 31-year-old Rockhold while the challenger holds a one-inch advantage in height and a three-inch advantage in leg reach. Weidman, whose nine-fight UFC winning streak is the longest active streak in the division, has recorded six victories by knockout and three by submission.

Rockhold (14-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who's ranked No. 2, defeated Lyoto Machida with a second round submission in his last fight on April 18 in UFC Fight Night. He has won 12 of his 14 victories by stoppages. The 12 stoppage victories in UFC/Strikeforce middleweight competition are tied with Anderson Silva for the most in the combined division history. Rockhold is currently on a four-fight winning streak.

Weidman, a two-time All-American at Hofstra, was 51-21 in two seasons with the Pride, placing sixth in 2006 and third as a senior in 2007 at 197 pounds. Weidman, who earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2007, was named to the Colonial Athletic Association's Silver Anniversary Wrestling Team in 2009, along with seven other Hofstra grapplers.

In other fights on the main card, featherweight champion Conor McGregor (18-2) will face Jose Aldo (25-1) in the co-main event. Second-ranked Ronaldo Souza (22-3) squares off against third-ranked Yoel Romero (10-1) in a middleweight fight. Sixth-ranked Demian Maia (21-6) faces 12th-ranked Gunnar Nelson (14-1-1) in a welterweight battle and fifth-ranked Max Holloway (14-3) meets eighth-ranked Jeremy Stephens (24-11) in a featherweight fight.