Luke Rockhold’s quest to regain his UFC middleweight title was recently put on hold when champion Robert Whittaker was forced out of their scheduled UFC 221 main event on February 10 from Perth, Australia.
Instead, the former UFC and Strikeforce titleholder will take on Cuban wrestling powerhouse Yoel Romero for another interim title in a division that’s as confusing as any in the UFC right now – or perhaps ever.
After only just returning to the octagon last September to defeat former WSOF champ David Branch following over a year off when he was knocked out by Michael Bisping, Rockhold has admitted he knows it’s a mess he’s created, and indeed, it is a mess, with three champions since early November and the current one inactive with a serious staph infection.
So Rockhold’s looking to lend at least some continuity to his weight class, and the first step towards doing that is obviously getting past Romero, no easy task in its own right. But as he has been in the past, Rockhold is supremely confident to the point where some would call him cocky, so it was hardly a surprise to hear him predict to MMA Junkie Radio that he was going to stop Romero at UFC 221 and then face Whittaker:
“No one’s putting away Romero other than me and Whittaker, so that’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to put him away. I’m going to show what’s up, and then I’m going to take on Whittaker.”
Rockhold acknowledged Romero’s belief in himself, something he believes could cause overconfidence in his opponent. Even with Romero’s extensive resumé and accomplishments, Rockhold said, he would simply take him to “deeper, darker” places than any of his prior opponents:
“I know Yoel believes in himself. I know he is almost overconfident at times. I think he doesn’t really understand where the dangers are I pose to him. I know what he is and what he’s capable of, but I’m going to give this guy more than he can handle. I’m going to shut him down. I’m willing to go deeper than he’ll ever go.
“Some people act the part. Some people talk the part. But to be the part, to go there and to get into those moments, I’ve never been outdone. I’m willing to go deeper and darker than any of these motherf*ckers. Yoel can look it, and he can act it, but I’ll bring it out of him, and I’ll push this thing to a different world that he’s not ready for.”
Romero has shown moments of sheer dominance in finishing fights with explosive, out-of-nowhere wins few can duplicate inside an MMA cage, but he’s also shown a significant tendency to fade if the fight extends into the championship rounds.
Regardless, the Cuban ‘Soldier of God’ is one of the best wrestlers to ever compete in the UFC, and his track record shows it. With Rockhold being known for one of the most dominant top games on the ground, the grappling battle between these two should be a heated match-up, one where Rockhold believes Romero will find a surprise:
“I don’t know if Yoel thinks he can grapple with me,” Rockhold said. “He’ll be in for a surprise if he really wants to take it there. So whether he wants to strike, and he thinks he’s OK there, I’m going to make him pay there, and I think he falls back to his instincts, and he tries to wrestle. I’m going to make him pay for the wrestling. I’m going to hit scrambles. I’m going to be on top. I’m going to get in positions where he’s never felt.”
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