Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is targeting a return to the division where he made a name for himself in the UFC. Rockhold recently moved up a weight class to take on Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight. The fight did not go his way to say the least, and he has been out of action since then.
However, Rockhold is now ready to fight at 185-pounds but there is a slight problem. None of the fighters in the top 10 of the division are ready to accept a fight against him as per Rockhold. Who is not pleased with the situation, to say the least.
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Daniel Cormier sends a message to the middleweight division over Luke Rockhold
In a recent interview, The Schmo asked Daniel Cormier what he made of top 10 middleweights declining a fight against Luke Rockhold and who he thinks is a good opponent for his former teammate.
‘DC’ said, “I think anyone should be chomping at the bit to fight Luke Rockhold. I mean former champion, former Strikeforce champion. Anybody that gets an opportunity should be wanting to fight Luke Rockhold especially back at 185. Because at 185 he is just as dangerous as anyone in the world.”Cormier continued, “Maybe that is why they’re not wanting to fight him. But I am excited Luke is coming back. I am excited that he has had some time to recover… Because when you look back on that Jan Blachowicz fight, it has aged good. Cause Jan has done that to numerous people. So I don’t have a name at the tip of my tongue But I know that when he is back, he is going to be another real contender in the middleweight division.”
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Rockhold’s last fight at middleweight was at UFC 221 in February 2018 for the interim title. Yoel Romero stopped Rockhold in round three in violent fashion. However, as he missed weight, he was not awarded the belt. Rockhold has since fought once at UFC 239 when he was once again violently knocked out by Jan Blachowicz this time at light heavyweight.
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Out of the top 10 in the middleweight division, Kelvin Gastelum is the only one who does not have a fight scheduled at the moment. Robert Whittaker is most likely fighting for the title next and is highly unlikely to accept a fight against Rockhold. Therefore, Rockhold might have to wait for a few fights to play out before he can secure a fight against a top 10 opponent.
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