Despite UFC President Dana White initially looking in another direction, Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping are going to have an opportunity to settle their differences after all.
#UFCFightNight heads to Sydney, Australia on Nov.8 as @Bisping takes on @LukeRockhold in a five round main event! pic.twitter.com/oqrDH70CMo
— UFC Australia, NZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) September 5, 2014
A UFC Twitter account broke the news Friday evening, revealing the matchup between Rockhold and Bisping would serve as the main event at UFC Fight Night 55, which will be hosted by Sydney.
Blood has been boiling between Rockhold and Bisping for a while now. The rivalry dates back to a November 2012 interview, in which Bisping called himself the unofficial Strikeforce champion after sparring with Rockhold.
The potential for a grudge match became real following Bisping‘s interview following a win over Cung Le at UFC Fight Night 48. The Englishman called out Rockhold and alluded to the former Strikeforce champion as a steppingstone in his path toward the middleweight championship.
“There’s an idiot called Luke Rockhold who doesn’t stop talking about me. I think he has the hots for me, to be honest,” Bisping said. “Luke Rockhold, if you want to do it, let’s dance.”
While it was a matchup with a lot of entertainment appeal, White wasn’t sold initially. In an interview on UFC.com days after Bisping‘s call out, White said the promotion was working on a bout between Rockhold and Lyoto Machida instead.
“We’re looking at Rockhold-Machida in Brazil. That’s what we’re looking at,” White said. “Anything is possible. Michael Bisping is ranked number eight in the world. Rockhold is number five. They’ll meet each other anyway eventually, but Rockhold has got Machida first.”
However, on Thursday, White changed his tune and disclosed in a Fox Sports 1 interview that a matchup between Bisping and Rockhold was a possibility again. Things apparently came together quickly after that, as the fight was booked around 24 hours later.
“I like that fight between you two. I know you (Bisping) do,” White said, “and I know he likes that fight too. It’s just a matter of getting it done now.”
A pair of noteworthy top-10 middleweights coming off of wins, Rockhold and Bisping could potentially be battling for a title shot depending on the timing of everything else going on at 185 pounds. There is also a notable matchup between Ronaldo Souza and Gegard Mousasi set to happen at UFC Fight Night 50.
Since losing to Vitor Belfort in Brazil, Rockhold has posted a 2-0 record. The American Kickboxing Academy member scored a knockout win over Costas Philippou in January before earning a submission victory against Tim Boetsch in April.
Meanwhile, Bisping most recently knocked out Le on August 23. Not riding as much momentum as Rockhold, Bisping rebounded from a loss to Tim Kennedy by beating Le last month.
There is sure to be some fun trash talking between Rockhold and Bisping before they finally meet on November 8. However, the 185-pound contenders are eventually going to have to do their talking inside the Octagon.
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