Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping rematch | UFC Betting Sites

Luke Rockhold: I Can Get Paid Much More Modeling Than Fighting

You know it’s a slow week in MMA when a former UFC champion is talking about modeling in the news. But that’s just what former middleweight boss Luke Rockhold is doing. After he was knocked out in shocking fashion in his short-notice title fight against Michael Bisping at June’s UFC 199, Rockhold was quick to

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You know it’s a slow week in MMA when a former UFC champion is talking about modeling in the news.

But that’s just what former middleweight boss Luke Rockhold is doing. After he was knocked out in shocking fashion in his short-notice title fight against Michael Bisping at June’s UFC 199, Rockhold was quick to claim that Bisping got lucky and that he deserved an immediate rematch given that he had already submitted “The Count” in November 2014.

However, during an appearance on this week’s The MMA Hour, Rockhold’s stance on that rematch seems to have calmed down a bit, as the notoriously handsome middleweight could be enjoying the fame and attention fighting brings him in other ways. Rockhold was recently revealed to be dating pop star Demi Lovato, and now he’s got another opportunity in the works.

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Apparently the former champ has a modeling gig that pays significantly more than fighting does, so while he wants to avenge his loss to Bisping and reclaim his title, he says it has to ‘make sense’ for him to put his health on the line for less money:

“I definitely want to fight, and I want to get back to that title and get my shot. So, it’s about making the right move next, and making it worth my while. I’m not going to just go out there and put my body on the line when I can get paid that much more in this world [modeling]. So, if they make it worth my while, I’d love to come back. This is what I love to do — I love to fight. But, it’s got to make sense.”

Rockhold made it clear that he has a good report with his employers at the UFC, and that he also has several fights remaining on his contract with them. He knows they are notorious for using hard-line negotiating tactics with fighters, and he accepts that as part of the fight game. But he said he has other avenues to make money himself, so he has the rarely-available opportunity to take time off as a fighter:

“I have a good relationship with the UFC for sure. It’s just, they’re always going to…it’s business, they’re going to make things to their advantage, of course. Try to take advantage of certain things and put you in a place and do what they can. That’s business, that’s how it is. And guess what, I’ve got my own business on the side and I can stand my ground too. I can take some time off.”

Sitting pretty at No. 3 on the official pound-for-pound rankings less than three months ago, there was talk that Rockhold was already the most accomplished middleweight of all time. That came crashing down against Bisping, however, a fight where Rockhold had an injured MCL that has since required some gruesome treatments to get on the path towards healing right. With that and other nagging injuries playing into his decision, Rockhold again described a scenario where he’d be paid more to instead let his body heal rather than continually bet it up:

“I’m a fighter at heart, but I’m here to get paid, so if there’s more potential [in modeling], I’ll take it. And we’re talking big numbers, so I could laugh and let my body heal and wait for the time’s right to come back and fight when it makes sense.”

With fighter pay at the center of a hotbed of issues constantly being discussed about the UFC and MMA as a whole, it’s understandable that a top-ranked former champion wants to be paid what he’s worth, especially with potentially lucrative business opportunities awaiting him outside the cage.

However, it’s going to be tough to negotiate a big payday when you just got knocked out by a fighter most regarded as a mid-level contender for most of his career, and owning a wishy-washy stance on fighting the best in the world may not be the best path to getting the belt back.

Rockhold reiterated that in a somewhat surprising context when asked if he wanted to fight at November’s supposedly blockbuster UFC 205 from New York (which currently has no fights booked), proclaiming that he might, but not if it were to interfere with any of his new modeling obligations:

“But at the same time, if I’m going to go put my body [on the line], and put off deals in [the modeling] world, it’s got to make sense in my world. If I’m going to put down deals that are worth more than I’m fighting for and I’m avoiding a shoot or something I need to do, it just doesn’t make sense. I’m going to go beat my body down and put myself through hell. I love the reward at the end, but the reward’s got to be worth it.”

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Crazy Or Not, Dana White ‘Wouldn’t Rule Out’ Bisping vs. Henderson

After being asked to step up on extremely short notice to face off with Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title at June 4’s UFC 199, Michael Bisping wasn’t given much of a chance by the MMA community. However, he then shocked the masses, knocking Rockhold out cold in the very first round to become the

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Perhaps even more shocking then his victory, however, was his choice of who he would like to first defend his title against. Rather than one of the division’s top contenders, Bisping has his eyes set on No. 13-ranked ageing veteran Dan “Hendo” Henderson.

There is quite back story here, as “Hendo” infamously finished Bisping with one of the most iconic knockouts in sport history back at UFC 100 in 2009, but from a rankings standpoint, it simply doesn’t make much sense. Crazy or not, however, UFC President Dana White recently admitted that he was considering the possibility:

“I know a lot of people want to see that fight, but there’s so many guys that we would have to jump over to do that fight. But most of them are hurt. ‘Jacare’ is hurt, Weidman’s hurt, Rockhold just lost. So I wouldn’t rule it out. He’s saying win, lose or draw, if he fought Bisping in a title fight he would retire. But if wins the belt I highly doubt he would retire. I don’t know, it’s a tough one. I’ve questioned over the last year whether Henderson should still be fighting at 45, but it’s hard to deny the guy when he’s taking people out the way that he is.” White said on a recent edition of the UFC Unfiltered podcast.

Despite his age, Henderson is indeed coming off of a brutal stoppage victory over Hector Lombard at the very event in which Bisping toppled Rockhold for the title, but is he deserving of a title shot? Many would likely agree that he’s not given the current landscape of the division, although the interest for a rematch between Bisping and Henderson seems to be there.

Would you like to see these two veterans run it back?

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“Jacare” Souza Might ‘Spank’ Someone Before Title Shot

When former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was forced to withdraw from his scheduled title rematch with Luke Rockhold at June 4’s UFC 199, top contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was the UFC’s first choice to fill in. “Jacare” was dealing with a knee injury, however, and the promotion called on long-time divisional mainstay Michael Bisping

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“Jacare” was dealing with a knee injury, however, and the promotion called on long-time divisional mainstay Michael Bisping to step up and face off with Rockhold.

Bisping would end up shocking the world and knocking Rockhold out cold in the very first round to become the new undisputed 185-pound champion.

Recently speaking with MMAFighting.com, Souza said that he’ll be ready to return by November, and that he feels deserving of the next title shot, although he may ‘spank’ someone else before the shot at gold presents itself:

“I’m not afraid at all, I think I deserve the title shot,” said Souza in response to the idea that he’d be passed over after declining to fill in for any injured Weidman at UFC 199. “Even if they give me somebody else to fight before the title shot, I might take it and spank someone. But I know I have the right to be the next one.”

Despite holding a very impressive 6-1 Octagon record, Souza may very well be passed over, as the title shot could be awarded to Weidman. The ex-champion recently called out Bisping for a fight in his home of New York on November 12, 2016 at UFC 205 which may be too lucrative of an opportunity for the UFC to pass up.

Yoel Romero is another top contender in the title discussion, and he actually owns a win over “Jacare” last December, albeit a controversial victory at best.

While admitting that he should’ve prepared better for that bout, Souza also claimed that “The Soldier of God” fought dirty:

“I probably should have been better prepared for that fight, but I believe I did a good job,” added Souza regarding his defeat to Romero. “I came back, I showed heart. And he was not loyal. He kind of fought dirty, held the cage twice. It is what it is.”

Who should receive the next shot at gold in the stacked 185-pound division?

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Rockhold To Bisping: I Will See You Soon & I Will Finish This

The bad blood between bitter rivals Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping clearly didn’t go away after Bisping’s shocking knockout victory over Rockhold in their rematch at last weekend’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California. Bisping shocked the masses to capture the UFC 185-pound title, and the two continued to

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Bisping shocked the masses to capture the UFC 185-pound title, and the two continued to go at it at the post-fight press conference.

Rockhold claims that he was ‘pissed off’ due to the fact that Bisping was ‘classless’ in the aftermath of the bout:

“After our first fight I picked him up off the canvas and gave him his due respect,” Rockhold said in an Instagram post. “Bisping went out of his way to come across the cage not to shake my hand like a man but to further mock the situation. I felt it was a classless move on his part. Thus the reason I was so pissed off at the press conference. I don’t believe in kicking a man while he’s down.”

At the end of the day, the now ex-champion admits that he underestimated Bisping, and simply let the pressure get to him:

“I love the fight game and all that it offers,” Rockhold said. “It’s a chaotic world we live in but the reward far outweighs risk. Allowing the pressure of the situation get to me, I felt the need to preform [sic] and make a statement as opposed to staying calculated and winning the fight. I underestimated my opponent and paid for it. Forcing a fight that was unlike me, which left the door open. Credit to Micheal [sic] for being the tough guy that he is and capitalizing on the situation.”

Rockhold is no stranger to suffering a setback, however, as he’s been in this position before. Champions learn from mistakes, and comeback stronger which is exactly what the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product plans to do:

“I’ve been here before and I’ve always learned and grew from these situations,” Rockhold wrote. “This will be no different. I will go home, heal up, and come back better than ever before. Bisping, I will see you real soon and I will finish this.”

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Michael Bisping: UFC 199 Was The ‘Easiest Fight Of My Life’

It may have taken Michael Bisping nearly a decade of competing inside the Octagon to earn his long-awaited UFC middleweight title shot, but it didn’t take him too long to get the job done when he did get in the main event of last weekend’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum in

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Now-former champion Luke Rockhold was slated to face off with another former champion in Chris Weidman in the evening’s main event, but Weidman was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury. Bisping subsequently accepted the fight with his bitter rival on just two weeks’ notice, and ultimately knocked Rockhold out in the first round.

Rockhold was largely cinsdiered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA at the time, but Bisping said the exact opposite was true. In the aftermath of the clash, “The Count” called it the ‘easiest night’ of his life:

“The easiest few weeks of my life,” Bisping told FOX Sports 1 of his title win. “(Before I got the call to fight at UFC 199) I was drinking beer on a movie set filming XxX (with) Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson – no big deal. The easiest night of my life, the easiest fight, the easiest camp, the easiest payday. Thank you, Luke.”

UFC 199 actually marked the rematch between the two, as Rockhold scored a finish over Bisping back in November 2014. The Brit, however, considered it to be the third meeting, as he has repeatedly mentioned a sparring session where he claims to have gotten the better of Rockhold.

With that being said, “The Count” was eager to land the rematch, and wasted no time in accepting the offer:

“I sparred Luke before, and I know sparring doesn’t count, but I did kind of wipe the floor with him. In the (last) fight he got lucky; he caught me with a nice head kick. I wanted this rematch so bad, and I wanted a title fight so bad. So when the opportunity came on two weeks’ notice, I didn’t even think about it.

“I said going into this fight – I think I’ve always trained too hard in the past. I’ve always overtrained. My power was better tonight because I had a shorter camp. … I could see it coming. I definitely had the speed advantage. He was telegraphing all his shots. I have a mean left hook.”

In Bisping’s mind, his UFC 199 performance was the culmination of years and years of hard work. Simply put, he was able to show the world what he had always knew and believed:

“I’ve always knew I was at this level,” he said. “I’ve had my ups and downs, and I’ve lost some fights along the way. I don’t want to get into the whole performance-enhancing drugs thing, but that was kind of an issue over the years. But I still believed. I always dusted myself off and picked myself back up.

“I know I had a lot of detractors that didn’t believe I was at that caliber, but I want to thank those guys as well. They fueled me on and helped light that fire inside me. I always knew I could do this. I always knew I had punching power. I knew I had the ability, and tonight, of course, I got to show everybody.”

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UFC Rankings Update: Bisping Bursts Onto Pound-For-Pound List

Despite the story of highly-respected journalist Ariel Helwani being ludicrously escorted from last weekend’s (Sat., June 4, 2016) UFC 199 and subsequently ‘banned for life’ by the UFC drowning the media landscape, we simply can’t forget about the fights – and it was a memorable night to say the least. In the main event at

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In the main event at The Forum in Inglewood, California, long-time divisional mainstay Michael Bisping shocked the masses and knocked out Luke Rockhold in the very first round to become the undisputed middleweight champion of the world.

A true feel-good story, Bisping completed one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, and as a result has launched himself onto the pound-for-pound list according to the latest rankings update courtesy of UFC.com.

“The Count” now sits at No. 9 after his monumental victory.

Reigning bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz scored an impressive decision victory over bitter rival Urijah Faber in their co-main event trilogy bout. “The Dominator” jumped up a spot to No. 3 on the pound-for-pound list after Rockhold, who previously held that rank, saw a massive drop down to No. 13.

Check out the full rankings update below:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Jon Jones
2 Demetrious Johnson
3 Dominick Cruz +1
4 Robbie Lawler +1
5 Rafael Dos Anjos +1
6 Conor McGregor +1
7 Daniel Cormier +1
8 Jose Aldo +1
9 Michael Bisping *NR
10 Frankie Edgar +1
11 Stipe Miocic +2
12 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
13 Luke Rockhold +10
14 Chris Weidman +4
15 Fabricio Werdum

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Joseph Benavidez
2 Henry Cejudo
3 Jussier Formiga
4 Kyoji Horiguchi
5 Ian McCall
6 John Moraga
7 Zach Makovsky
8 Wilson Reis
9 Dustin Ortiz
10 Ali Bagautinov
11 Justin Scoggins
12 Louis Smolka
13 Ray Borg
14 Sergio Pettis
15 Ben Nguyen

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Dominick Cruz
1 TJ Dillashaw
2 Urijah Faber
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Bryan Caraway
5 Michael McDonald
6 Aljamain Sterling
7 Cody Garbrandt
8 John Lineker +1
8 John Dodson
10 Thomas Almeida -1
11 Takeya Mizugaki
12 Frankie Saenz
13 Johnny Eduardo
14 Jimmie Rivera
15 Eddie Wineland

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Conor McGregor
1 Jose Aldo
2 Frankie Edgar
3 Max Holloway +1
4 Chad Mendes -1
5 Ricardo Lamas
6 Cub Swanson
7 Charles Oliveira
8 Jeremy Stephens
9 Dennis Bermudez
10 Brian Ortega +2
11 Hacran Dias -1
12 Darren Elkins -1
13 Yair Rodriguez +1
14 Tatsuya Kawajiri -1
15 Mirsad Bektic

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Rafael Dos Anjos
1 Khabib Nurmagomedov
2 Eddie Alvarez
3 Tony Ferguson
4 Donald Cerrone
5 Nate Diaz
6 Edson Barboza
7 Anthony Pettis
8 Michael Johnson
9 Dustin Poirier +2
10 Michael Chiesa -1
11 Beneil Dariush -1
12 Al Iaquinta
13 Rashid Magomedov +1
14 Evan Dunham +1
15 Francisco Trinaldo *NR

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Robbie Lawler
1 Rory MacDonald
2 Stephen Thompson
3 Tyron Woodley
4 Demian Maia
5 Carlos Condit
6 Johny Hendricks
7 Neil Magny
8 Matt Brown
9 Dong Hyun Kim
10 Rick Story
11 Gunnar Nelson
12 Kelvin Gastelum
13 Tarec Saffiedine
14 Thiago Alves +1
15 Albert Tumenov *NR

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Michael Bisping
1 Luke Rockhold -1
2 Chris Weidman -1
3 Jacare Souza -1
4 Vitor Belfort -1
5 Anderson Silva
6 Robert Whittaker
7 Lyoto Machida
8 Gegard Mousasi
9 Uriah Hall +1
10 Tim Kennedy -1
11 Derek Brunson
12 Thales Leites
13 Dan Henderson +2
14 Rafael Natal -1
14 Thiago Santos

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Jon Jones (Interim Champion)
2 Anthony Johnson
3 Glover Teixeira
4 Alexander Gustafsson
5 Ryan Bader
6 Ovince Saint Preux
7 Mauricio Rua
8 Rashad Evans
9 Jimi Manuwa
10 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
11 Nikita Krylov
12 Corey Anderson
13 Ilir Latifi
14 Patrick Cummins
15 Gian Villante

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Stipe Miocic
1 Fabricio Werdum
2 Cain Velasquez
3 Alistair Overeem
4 Junior Dos Santos
5 Ben Rothwell
6 Andrei Arlovski
7 Travis Browne
8 Mark Hunt
9 Josh Barnett
10 Roy Nelson
11 Derrick Lewis
12 Frank Mir
13 Stefan Struve
14 Ruslan Magomedov
15 Alexey Oliynyk

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
1 Claudia Gadelha
2 Carla Esparza
3 Rose Namajunas
4 Tecia Torres
5 Valerie Letourneau
6 Karolina Kowalkiewicz +1
7 Jessica Andrade *NR
8 Maryna Moroz +1
9 Paige VanZant -1
10 Jessica Penne -4
11 Michelle Waterson -1
12 Joanne Calderwood -1
13 Jessica Aguilar
14 Randa Markos -2
15 Juliana Lima -1

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Miesha Tate
1 Holly Holm
2 Ronda Rousey
3 Cat Zingano
4 Amanda Nunes
5 Julianna Pena
6 Sara McMann
7 Valentina Shevchenko
8 Liz Carmouche
9 Raquel Pennington
10 Jessica Eye
11 Bethe Correia
12 Germaine de Randamie
13 Lauren Murphy
14 Ashlee Evans-Smith
15 Marion Reneau

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