Luke Rockhold is relaxed and confident ahead of his UFC on Fox 15 main event against Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida Saturday evening in Newark, New Jersey.
The former Strikeforce middleweight champion has finished three straight fights inside the UFC Octagon, most recently decimating Michael “The Count” Bisping at UFC Fight Night 55 via second-round submission.
Now, the No. 4-ranked UFC middleweight puts his streak on the line against the former light heavyweight champion Machida in a bout that will likely determine the next contender for a title shot in the UFC’s ever-deepening 185-pound division.
Bleacher Report caught up with Rockhold ahead of this marquee matchup, and the American Kickboxing Academy product opened up on Machida, steroids, current middleweight title contender Vitor Belfort and much more.
Following is a transcription of our chat.
Bleacher Report: Hey, Luke, how’s everything going, man?
Luke Rockhold: It’s going pretty good, man. I’m just kicking it on my deck, enjoying a little sun, talking to you and handling business.
B/R: Sounds like a solid evening! So the big fight is just a week away—what is this last week of preparation like for you?
LR: It’s going pretty damn good. I’m starting to enjoy it a little more, not gonna lie. Yesterday [Wednesday, April 8] was my last full-on day of hard sparring, 25 minutes of going with hard opposition. But it went great. I think it was some of the best of my whole camp, and I got my hard cardio in last night.
Really, it’s just fine-tuning from then on out, keeping my lungs open, monitoring my weight. It’s nice not to have to worry my ass off and torture myself through this whole training camp. I’m pretty excited about relaxing.
B/R: Every fighter goes though the physical rigors of cutting weight the week before, but on the mental side, you have some fighters say “Fighting is 90 percent mental.” What do you do to mentally get in the zone? Is there a process?
LR: I think it’s just relaxing. I think the hardest part is getting through training camp. Mentally, it’s pushing yourself, willing yourself through those tough times when you don’t want to go and pushing that last, fifth round with a fresh guy who just comes in guns blazing and you have to dig deep and gut through it and still dominate that round, beat his ass.
I’ve done that. I’ve done all my bike circuit cardio workouts when I know I gotta push my numbers higher and I gotta be better than I was before. It sucks. Your body doesn’t want to do it, but I’ve done that. I know I have that in me. I think that’s the mental workout, honestly. I’ve had so many fights that I now understand the relaxation part and I’ve done my homework on the fight.
Now it’s just a matter of relaxing and having confidence in my work and what I’ve done, just going out there and doing what it takes to get it done.
B/R: Taking on Machida, this very much looks like a No. 1 contender’s bout even though it hasn’t been officially announced as such. Do you see it as “winner gets the title shot” matchup?
LR: One-hundred percent. We’re the main event. Our closest competitors [Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero] are in the co-main event [Note: At the time of the interview, it had not been announced that Romero would not be able to compete.]. Everyone wants to talk about a middleweight tournament and this and that, but I see us as the main event. I see us as the best guys at ’85 that aren’t champion right now. I just want to go in there and do what I do, focus on beating Machida, and I know everything will fall into place.
I don’t know. There’s nothing left for me after Machida.
B/R: Regarding Machida‘s style specifically, you hear so much about his “elusiveness.” It’s the buzzword when talking about Machida. Now, obviously Michael Bisping isn’t exactly the same, but he is a counter striker lauded for his footwork and accuracy. Did preparing for him help you for Machida in any ways?
LR: I think every fight helps for the next. Bisping, I knew it was going to be a striking matchup. I knew I’d have to cut angles and surprise him. He’s technically sound, but he doesn’t have those intangibles. So I knew I’d have to bring those to the table and surprise him with speed and big power, cutting angles.
I created angles and hit him with a big power shot and finished him. That’s it. It’s going to be similar to Machida. Machida, he’s a little more dangerous on the feet. He’s very technical, but then he’s got those explosive moments where he can come forward and kind of try to surprise you. That’s when you give him—he only has that really when you allow him to, when you give him those moments. If you take those away, if you pressure him, he’s very controlled. You can kind of time him and see where he’s at more so.
That’s my focus, pressuring him and putting on a little more pressure than I did on Bisping and making him fight with his back against the wall, taking him out of his element.
B/R: You mentioned an interesting element with Souza and Romero being below you on this card. They’re basically the two that are throwing a monkey wrench into this being a clear-cut No. 1 contender’s bout, and Souza, he’s ranked No. 1 in the division and you’ve beaten him before. Would you consider fighting him if you both won? Is that even an option for you?
LR: I’m not even focused on that at all. I’m focused on going out there and proving myself as the best guy in the division deserving of the title. I think my performances speak for themselves, and Jacare won’t touch mine—or Yoel for that matter. Whoever wins that fight is not going to be on my level of performance. I’m focused on what I need to do. I’m going to go out there, and we’re obviously the main event for a reason. They’re below us for a reason, and they’re going to stay there. I’m going to stay above them.
I think rankings are b——t. I don’t know where people come up with these rankings, but good for them. Obviously, they know who the top dogs are, and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in. I think oddsmakers are smarter than the rankings people, so I wonder what the odds would be on all of us.
B/R: You say that about the rankings, but pretty soon you’re going to have to accept them with the Reebok deal and the scaled sponsorship payouts based on rankings. Does that worry you at all?
LR: It doesn’t worry me because I know I’m going to get that championship dollar. That’s all it comes down to.
B/R: You made a point earlier, saying that “you’re only as good as your last fight,” and against Michael Bisping you were sensational. You’re on a tear right now, not just winning fights, but finishing them with ease.
What’s going on that’s led to this surge?
LR: I had some sense knocked into me. That loss was an opportunity to reflect on what I was doing, what I did wrong in that fight and where I’m at my best. Now I’m at the point where I’m taking my time, I’m creating opportunities for myself. I’m seeing clearly. I’m in a relaxed, confident state of mind. It took a lot of weight off my shoulders.
I went in there and promised myself I wouldn’t focus on the outcome, I’d just stay relaxed and know that I’m better than these guys. I’d wait to find my timing. You see me in there, and I’m not forcing the issue. When I don’t force the issue, and I slowly pressure and make guys create openings for me, when I create openings for myself, I put people in bad places and make them open up holes. That’s what I do. You start finding these things and you start seeing things better when you’re relaxed.
When you’re tense and you’re forcing the issue, you kind of cloud your vision, so I think just being confident and super relaxed, waiting for my timing, has really helped me.
You begin to have those super performances where you’re performing better than you’re training. When you’re super relaxed and you have those amazing days in training, you’ll do things and you’re like, ‘F–k.’ You laugh at yourself because it’s funny, like, ‘How the hell did I pull that off? What did I just do there?’ Those are those points where you just find that mindset, and now I reflect upon that and watch my sparring sessions and do all that.
That’s how I’ve figured it out, going with certain guys who would frustrate me, then when I’d get frustrated, I’d fight like s–t. When I’d refocus myself and tell myself to relax, I’d start realizing how good I could potentially be, and it was a matter of sticking to that mindset, and I’ve finally done that.
B/R: It’s gotta be hard not to get frustrated training with [UFC heavyweight champ] Cain [Velasquez], [Daniel] Cormier, Khabib [Nurmagomedov]—all those guys. How hard is it to stay relaxed and focused when you’re going against guys like them?
LR: It’s definitely tough. I’ve been doing it almost nine years now with Cain, so it’s made me tougher and it’s made me better, no doubt. Cormier‘s been here for almost five years now, so I’m used to having to cut angles and be sharp to deal with him. If I’m tense, they’re going to find me and put me in bad places. So I have to be sharp and quick and keep moving. Practice makes perfect against them. But I’ve taken my beatings and learned how to get around and succeed against the big guys.
B/R: You recently made some comments about Anderson Silva. You said “a cheater is a cheater,” and something funny happened. I don’t know if you follow forums or anything like that, but so many fans flipped the script on you and are saying, “Oh, I guarantee Luke is using something.” In making those comments, you put yourself under the microscope too. Did you see that coming, and how do you feel about it?
LR: *Laughs* I didn’t know people were saying that. There are a lot of outspoken people against PED usage. It’s funny to see people talk bad about it and then get popped. You’ll never see me be that guy. I work my ass off to put myself in the best shape possible. I understand my diet and my nutrition. I do everything I can—naturally.
The thing is, they asked me a question and I answered it. I’ve always been outspoken against PED use. It’s not a recent issue for me. This has been ongoing for me. I’ve been against this from the very beginning—there’s just more light on it now that it’s Anderson Silva. That’s the problem. I respect Anderson for his accomplishments and everything that he’s done, but at the end of the day, he got caught for steroids, and he needs to be treated like everybody else. That’s all it comes down to, and that’s all I was saying.
People are going to always talk s–t and say this and that. People don’t want to believe that Anderson was capable of doing something like that, because people looked up to him for so long. His physique hasn’t really changed over the years. He doesn’t really look like one of those guys, and he has that aura around him where people are in disbelief that it was actually true, but guess what? He tested positive before and after.
You can’t say he only took it to recover for his leg and he shouldn’t be punished like this. Everyone should be treated the same. This is how it is.
B/R: So to know the UFC is implementing hard guidelines for what’s acceptable, they’re hiring people like Jeff Novitzky to oversee these operations…how does that make you feel as a fighter moving forward?
LR: I’m excited, but at the same time, I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve seen the guy they hired, I looked at his credentials and the names he’s caught and all his stuff. It sounds too good to be true.
When guys like Vitor [Belfort] are still fighting for titles and people are only getting urine tests, nothing’s really changed in my mind. I requested blood [testing]. I called the New Jersey State Athletic Commission and I request blood tests. I wanted them prior to the fight. I wanted to get tested for this fight, and they’ve informed me there will be multiple tests before this fight’s on, so I’m taking that blood and urine, I guess.
I want to be tested. Test me, please! I want blood in camp, out of camp. There’s no other way to prove yourself innocent until you get that blood test. I’m willing and open to do it any time. People can talk s–t, but whatever.
B/R: The one guy you mentioned, Vitor, obviously his history with steroid use is well documented and discussed. He’s the one guy you lost to in the UFC, and if you didn’t suffer that loss, you’d almost certainly have challenged for—if not won—the title by now. How important is a rematch with him on a level playing field to you?
LR: It’s not something I really hold onto anymore these days. I was pretty lit up about it and I wanted my rematch. The way things have played out for him, I think it’s very telling. We’ll see. I’m very curious to see what he looks like come May 23.
B/R: To that point, do you think he has what it takes to beat Weidman?
LR: He’s [Belfort‘s] a good fighter. He’s a tactician. I’ll give him that. I understand he reads his opponents pretty well. He does his thing, but a lot of his confidence and explosiveness…a lot of that’s going to be gone. He still breaks when you pressure him and take him to that point. He’s going to lose a little bit of his confidence and explosiveness and he might potentially break a little earlier.
I respect the fact that he is a bit of a tactician, but I just can’t respect him—I mean, it’s not even respect. I don’t respect him at all, but you have to understand that he’s pretty decent when it comes to the striking game of things. But in the end, he’s just a cheater.
B/R: Luke, I definitely appreciate your time and your opinions. Good luck finishing up your preparations for the fight, and I’ll see you in New Jersey. Take care.
LR: Right on. Thanks.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com