Tag: Luke Rockhold

Luke Rockhold on Money Fights: ‘Things Could Easily Get Out of Hand’

Luke Rockhold believes the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) could be playing with fire when it comes to “money fights.” By now, it’s well known that reigning UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will defend his gold against Georges St-Pierre later this year. St-Pierre left the UFC having successfully defended his welterweight title nine straight times. “Rush” […]

Luke Rockhold believes the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) could be playing with fire when it comes to “money fights.” By now, it’s well known that reigning UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will defend his gold against Georges St-Pierre later this year. St-Pierre left the UFC having successfully defended his welterweight title nine straight times. “Rush” […]

Poll: Who Wins Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre?

Following a rocky start to the year thanks in large to Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey’s absences from MMA, undoubtedly the UFC’s biggest upcoming fight is the middleweight title fight between champion Michael Bisping and legendary returning former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, which is slated for later this year. The fight has received a ton

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Following a rocky start to the year thanks in large to Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey’s absences from MMA, undoubtedly the UFC’s biggest upcoming fight is the middleweight title fight between champion Michael Bisping and legendary returning former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, which is slated for later this year.

The fight has received a ton of backlash and criticism with “The Count” having a perceived clear contender in the surging Yoel Romero, as St-Pierre is returning from what will be a nearly four-year absence from semi-retirement. He’s also never fought at 185 pounds before, raising doubt as to just how he’ll be able to contend with the much bigger Bisping.

But St-Pierre is doing his part to stay in shape, recently posting a training video of him doing gymnastics – a full-body exercise that few can do and one of the secrets to his unparalleled skill in the octagon during his historic run as champion during MMA’s rise to the current mainstream prominence it enjoys today.

Across the cage, Bisping will await. He’s received his own mob of critics after he fought No. 14-ranked Dan Henderson in his frist title defense at last October’s UFC 204, and has followed that up by refusing to fight the top-ranked contender in favor of the sure-to-be huge payday of a fight with “GSP,” yet there’s no denying “The Count” is on the hottest stretch of his long MMA career, with wins over former champs in Anderson Silva, Luke Rockhold, and Henderson; even if two of the victories were and are still followed by controversy. He’s still the bigger, more active fighter as compared to the better grappler St-Pierre, and he’s also probably a more polished striker.

All of that makes this fight a tough one to predict, and it should be a barnburner in a time where the UFC needs it to deliver. Who is your pick to win this pivotal bout?

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Fabricio Werdum Responds To Luke Rockhold’s Recent Callout

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold wants to settle his differences with former heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum inside the Octagon, but ‘Vai Cavalo’ doesn’t seem too interested in the potential bout. Rockhold appeared on UFC Tonight yesterday (Wed. March 23, 2017) and stated that he’d like to squash some beef that he has with the

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Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold wants to settle his differences with former heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum inside the Octagon, but ‘Vai Cavalo’ doesn’t seem too interested in the potential bout.

Rockhold appeared on UFC Tonight yesterday (Wed. March 23, 2017) and stated that he’d like to squash some beef that he has with the Brazilian that stretches back to their days under the Strikeforce banner. Given the current state of the middleweight division, with Georges St-Pierre making his return at 185 pounds and being granted an immediate title shot, Rockhold can put his aspirations of once again becoming middleweight champ on hold and pursue a heavyweight bout with Werdum (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“Everyone’s steaming over this new fight I brought up. I think me and Werdum got some old beef from Strikeforce. He’s a guy I’ve always wanted to fight. I’ve thought it through, and I like the style matchup. Given what’s going on in the middleweight division right now, screw that, I’m coming to heavyweight. Let’s do this.”

Werdum was previously scheduled to take on Ben Rothwell at UFC 211 live on pay-per-view (PPV) before Rothwell was flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the contest was called off. Now in need of a new dance partner Werdum is reluctant to accept Rockhold’s challenge as it does nothing for him on his quest back to the heavyweight throne:

“I only fight people, I don’t fight chickens,” Werdum said. “He’s just promoting himself because he knows nobody is talking about him. I’m one step away from the belt. Why would I fight a chicken?”

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Luke Rockhold Calls Out Fabricio Werdum

When UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was knocked out by Michael Bisping last year, and a new champion was crowned as a result of it, no one could have predicted how things would have turned out for the middleweight division. Bisping would go on to defend the title against Dan Henderson, and then the unthinkable

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When UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was knocked out by Michael Bisping last year, and a new champion was crowned as a result of it, no one could have predicted how things would have turned out for the middleweight division. Bisping would go on to defend the title against Dan Henderson, and then the unthinkable happened when former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre decided to come back, which caused a backlog in the division due to him facing Bisping next. While the date for that fight is unknown, it’s rumored to take place in July. The decision by the UFC to pass over more qualified contenders in exchange for more marquee matchups has infuriated much of the division including Rockhold.

During his recent appearance on UFC Tonight (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting), Rockhold spoke about the UFC’s decision to not make Bisping fight the top contenders, which is not too happy with.

“It’s chaos. I think they’re running down a slippery slope. I think things could easily get out of hand. You never know what these guys are gonna do. Georges isn’t gonna fight anybody in the top of our division if he wins this fight. Bisping could potentially be in the same boat. So I’m bummed they took this route. It’s kind of taken away from the heart of the sport. It’s about the top guys fighting each other. This isn’t WWE, this is fighting. This is what it’s all about so when they make moves like this it definitely makes you question a lot of things in what you’re doing and how you approach things.”

Despite his frustration, Rockhold has decided to be creative, and he came up with a new plan, which is might surprise people. While a rubber match with Bisping is not on the table at this time, Rockhold stated that there’s another score he’d like to settle, one with former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum.

“Everyone’s steaming over this new fight I brought up. I think me and Werdum got some old beef from Strikeforce. He’s a guy I’ve always wanted to fight. I’ve thought it through, and I like the style matchup. Given what’s going on in the middleweight division right now, screw that, I’m coming to heavyweight. Let’s do this.”

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Quote: Ferguson Fight Can’t Be Taken Away From Khabib

No. 1-ranked UFC lightweight contender Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov was slated to meet No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson at March 4’s UFC 209 for the interim 155-pound title, but he was forced to withdraw from the bout just a day prior after suffering from weight cutting issues that caused him to be hospitalized. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson

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No. 1-ranked UFC lightweight contender Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov was slated to meet No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson at March 4’s UFC 209 for the interim 155-pound title, but he was forced to withdraw from the bout just a day prior after suffering from weight cutting issues that caused him to be hospitalized.

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have now been scheduled to meet multiple times, although the bout has yet to come to fruition. With lightweight king Conor McGregor’s future uncertain, Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson is the fight to make, and according to ex-middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, who trains with “The Eagle”, the UFC should re-book the bout:

“(It’s) unfortunate,” said Rockhold during a recent appearance on Submission Radio. “That was the fight I was really looking forward to for Khabib and it’s been a long time working with that man and I know he’s put in the time and the effort and deserved it, so it just sucks.

“From what I understand he wasn’t getting any blood to his liver and something went wrong with the weight cut. It was very similar to his last fight from what I understand and just something went wrong. You never know with these weight cuts I guess. But I think he’s ready to go and we can re-book that thing.”

Rockhold even went as far to say that the fight ‘can’t’ be taken away from Nurmagomedov, despite his history with injuries and weight cutting issues:

“I don’t think it should take much time. I think he’s hungry, I think he’s ready,” added Rockhold. “What other choice do you have? Khabib is undefeated, he’s beaten everybody, he’s done more than anybody. You can’t take that fight away, you can’t take the title away. It just needs to be re-booked. I think it should be re-booked as soon as possible”

Do you agree with Rockhold’s comments?

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Luke Rockhold: GSP Won’t Fight Top Contenders If He Beats Michael Bisping

UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is set to defend his title against former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre later this year despite there being several title contenders in the division. The UFC is going against their normal routine, and instead, they’re booking money fights. Since the announcement was made, there has been disappointment from fans as

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UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is set to defend his title against former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre later this year despite there being several title contenders in the division. The UFC is going against their normal routine, and instead, they’re booking money fights. Since the announcement was made, there has been disappointment from fans as well as Yoel Romero and former champions Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold.

Rockhold recently spoke with Submission Radio, and during the interview, he addressed the UFC’s decision to book Bisping-GSP. Rockhold is not a fan of this matchup, to say the least.

“Unfortunate that they took the route they took,” Rockhold said. “I understand the business, and I understand what they’re doing, but I don’t think they’re really thinking ahead in making this fight. I think there’s a lot of better options other than tying up the division and making this thing happen. I don’t think Bisping’s a draw. He hasn’t proven to be a draw, so what’s the point of putting GSP in there with him, a man that’s never obviously fought at middleweight and has been out for three years? I think him (GSP) and Nick Diaz, I think him Anderson Silva, I think there’s a lot of other fights that make the money they need and then sells that without doing what they had to do.”

This fight will no doubt affect Rockhold and the rest of the division. You could make a very valid argument that Rockhold deserves a title shot more than anyone due to the fact that he is at the top of the rankings and one fight removed from the shocking loss to Bisping.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Rockhold said. “I don’t know what to say right now. I’m not here to dance around, I’m not here to fight chumps and just do my thing. I’m coming right back for the title. And seeing this play out the way it has, it’s quite frustrating, I’m not gonna lie. So I’m taking my time.”

Although there is no official date set for Bisping vs. St-Pierre, it’s been discussed that it would happen later this year. In a perfect world for the UFC, it would take place in July during international fight week in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the end of the day, Rockhold believes that should GSP get the win over Bisping and that after the fight, GSP won’t be facing the likes of Romero, Jacare, or himself.

“He’s not gonna fight one of the top contenders, I guarantee you that,” Rockhold said. “He won’t fight one, he won’t fight two, and he won’t fight three, guarantee it.”

You can listen to the interview here:

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