Luke Rockhold is is looking to establish himself as one of MMA‘s top heels…and he’s doing a pretty darn good job of it so far. Since taking the UFC middleweight title at UFC 194, the crafty southpaw has been verbally tearing into both hypothetical and real competition. His latest victim? His last opponent, Chris Weidman.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Rockhold compared and contrasted his fights with Weidman and old foe (and current top contender) Michael Bisping. The analysis was less than flattering towards Weidman.
“I think [Weidman] might have been easier, in my opinion,” said Rockhold (h/t MMAFighting.com‘s Marc Raimondi for the transcription). “Bisping is just a little bit funner. It’s more tactical. I’m gonna enjoy it more. It’s gonna be funner for the fans. Weidman kind of fights ugly and fights with his balls. Comes forward and might get a little sloppy. I’d pick him off fairly early. I think he overextends.”
How much of that is true, and how much is gamesmanship with Weidman and salesmanship for Rockhold’s upcoming UFC 199 main event, is anyone’s guess.
Rockhold faced Bisping in 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55 and dispatched the veteran with very little trouble, out-striking him in the first round before finishing him on the ground in the second. On the other hand, his fight with Weidman was a back-and-forth bruiser, with both men getting in offense before an ill-advised wheel kick by Weidman led to a game-changing takedown.
The difference, Rockhold says, lies in Bisping’s striking savvy. But while he paid the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 a compliment, don’t mistake it for a lack of confidence in the outcome of their fight. “It’s gonna be fun for me … I like tactical battles. I like outsmarting him. I like adjusting and making my points,” he said, and later added, “Bisping tries to make it more tactical and I enjoy that, that process of finding my shots and outdoing him, outsmarting him in the cage and putting him away.”
Rockhold and Bisping face off on Saturday at UFC 199, with Rockhold currently sitting as high as a -1000 favorite, according to Odds Shark. While it’s possible that Bisping’s veteran savvy could carry him to the title, it feels like Rockhold is on his way to becoming one of MMA’s foremost supervillains.
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