Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman to meet again for UFC middleweight title

New Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will have to duplicate his belt-winning feat to hang onto the hardware.

UFC President Dana White told Fox Sports 1 Wednesday that Rockhold and former champion Chris Weidman will have a rematch in June at UFC 199.

Rockhold (15-2) defeated Weidman by fourth-round technical knockout in December after pounding the former champion’s head with multiple punches while Weidman was lying on the canvas.

See the most-read stories in Sports this hour>>

Rockhold, who trains in San Jose, dominated the fight with 161 strikes compared to Weidman’s 62.

The defeat was the first for New York’s Weidman (13-1), who reportedly lobbied UFC leadership hard to land the rematch.

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire