Luke Rockhold is following the footsteps of Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal.
Luke Rockhold isn’t too much of a happy man these days. The former UFC middleweight champion hasn’t fought since 2019, and he’s getting fed up with the lack of “fun” and “exciting” opponents.
In a recent conversation with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, the Ralph Lauren model/Santa Monica zombie destroyer reiterated his frustrations about his contemporaries turning him down, except for Kevin Holland. He also doubled down on not picking anyone else outside of an “exciting opponent,” only this time, he also gave the company an ultimatum.
“I ain’t gonna take anything that doesn’t excite me. I’m not just gonna step up and fight somebody that doesn’t excite me or doesn’t excite my fans. There’s no point. I’ve been doing that. I’ve been a Strikeforce champ, I’ve been UFC world champ.
“I don’t need to come back and fight some bum that doesn’t f—ing get me excited. I’d rather just not come back. If you want me to fight, give me something that excites me.
“Give me something that excites my fans, my people, and all of us. Otherwise, f—k off and let me go because I ain’t gonna f—ng do that.”
Rockhold isn’t really picky about whether or not his next foe is at the top of the heap. All that matters is that whoever it may be, he should have some relevance in his name.
“If they are outside the top ten, they gotta be f—ng… they’ve got to be something that gives me some interest. Somebody that’s got some f—ng personality, someone that’s got hype, someone that gets me up. Gets me out of f—ng bed.
“I’m not gonna wake up for some f—ng chump who doesn’t do anything for me, and get out of bed and work my ass off. I’m f—ng 36 years old, I’ve achieved these heights, and I want something that gets me excited. I believe that I’m still one of the best guys in the world and I came from the number two spot in the world.”
The 36-year-old Rockhold last made an Octagon appearance at UFC 239 in 2019, when he debuted at 205-pounds against incumbent champion Jan Blachowicz. He lost via second-round KO and got his jaw broken in the process. His last win happened in 2017 against David Branch.