Luke Rockhold continues to push for a heavyweight fight against Fabricio Werdum.
Luke Rockhold isn’t backing down that easily. Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum laughed off Rockhold’s callout for a grudge match on Wednesday by calling him a ‘chicken’.
But Rockhold, a former two-promotion middleweight champion who lost the UFC title to Michael Bisping last year, fired back at ‘Vai Cavalo’ on Twitter and insinuated that his performance has dropped since the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) introduced random drug testing to the UFC.
@fabriciowerdum is trippin if he thinks hes close to UFC title. U r the last person they want n there. I’ll make u look worse than usada did
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) March 23, 2017
Werdum lost the heavyweight belt to Stipe Miocic at UFC 198, losing the title just one fight after dethroning Cain Velasquez at UFC 188. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist was knocked out in the very first round with a perfectly placed right hook.
Despite Rockhold’s comments, Werdum has never failed a drug test in his career and is considered one of the best fighters in the world. After losing to Miocic, the 39-year-old rebounded with a decision win over the No. 9 ranked Travis Browne and was expected to face Ben Rothwell at UFC 211. Rothwell, however, was pulled from the fight after failing an out-of-competition drug test and has flagged for a potential USADA anti-doping violation, leaving Werdum without an opponent.
Whilst a fight against Rockhold is highly unlikely, it will be interesting to see if Werdum responds and how far this unexpected rivalry develops.