It all seemed so simple.
Less than two years ago, the UFC middleweight title sure looked like it was going to stay around the waist of Luke Rockhold for a long time to come, with Chris Weidman serving as a transitional champ from one longtime titleholder in Anderson Silva to the next.
From there, well, you know what happened. Michael Bisping knocked out Rockhold in a staggering upset on a bizarre night in Inglewood, Calif., in June 2016.
Before the summer was out, the UFC would be sold by longtime owners Zuffa to WME/Endeavor.