Luke Rockhold is already declaring a fight against Jon Jones, since friend and teammate Daniel Cormier likely won’t drop back to light heavyweight.
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has been goading Jon Jones to fight Daniel Cormier at heavyweight for a while now. But since this setup likely won’t move forward, Rockhold is looking at jumping the line to book himself a fight against the current light heavyweight champion.
“Well, I’m fighting before DC, so I’m gonna take my dibs on that thing if the opportunity presents itself,” Rockhold told Submission Radio, speaking about a possible Jones fight. “DC, I think it’s foolish for him to come try to challenge Jon back down. I think Jon should have to come challenge him up for the heavyweight title. I mean, that’s where the natural weight is. Jon’s a big guy and he cuts a lot of weight too to get down.
“So, Jon’s scared to fight DC at heavyweight. I don’t know why DC thinks he’s gotta come back down to fight him there to prove some point. It just… it doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m paying attention to what’s out there (in the division), and there’s not (a lot),” he continued. “And there’s a lot of history with a match-up like that. I’ve been there through many training camps for Jon Jones, and been Jon Jones. So, we’ll see.”
Rockhold is making his 185-pound debut against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239, the same card headlined by the Jones-Thiago Santos title fight. He is, of course, expecting a dominant performance for himself.
“I’m faster than all these guys, I’m more technical. These guys can’t make mistakes,” he said. “I’m gonna beat them to the spot, I’m gonna make them pay, I’m gonna throw everything. Obviously, you know I got a heavy left kick and you can’t really stop it. So, I don’t know where Jan’s coming. Is he coming southpaw? Is he coming orthodox?
“He seems to not like the body kicks though. We might have a southpaw (vs.) southpaw. So, if that’s the case, then I got something for him too. And one thing everybody knows is, I’m a son a bitch when I’m on top of you, and Jan Blachowicz ain’t getting up when that happens.
“He’s gonna feel real comfortable,” he added. “I’m gonna make him feel real cozy. Sleep tight.”
UFC 239 is scheduled for July 6th in Las Vegas to cap off International Fight Week. It’s co-headlined by the women’s bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm.