Tag: Luke Rockhold

Luke Rockhold injured, out of UFC 268 fight with Sean Strickland

Luke Rockhold has herniated discs in his back and won’t be fighting Sean Strickland at UFC 268 in New York City.

[autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] won’t be making his return to the octagon at UFC 268.

Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC), a former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion, announced on Monday night that he’s sustained a back injury and has withdrawn from his scheduled bout against [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) on the Nov. 6 card at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“There’s no easy way to really say it, but the fight is off in New York,” Rockhold said on his Instagram story. “I ended up herniating a disc in my back. L4, L5. The docs say it’s nothing I can play with. I need to do some treatment and recovery time. Some things just aren’t meant to be. New York, motherf*cking New York. I’m sorry to the friends and the peeps and everyone, but we’ll be back. Until next time.”

Rockhold, 36, hasn’t seen action since a July 2019 knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239. He’s lost three of his past four fights overall.

It’s unknown at this time if the UFC will seek a replacement opponent for Strickland or if the matchup will be postponed.

The latest UFC 268 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili – for strawweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje
  • Sean Strickland vs. opponent TBA
  • Frankie Edgar vs. Marlon Vera

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPNews, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Bobby Green vs. Al Iaquinta
  • Ian Garry vs. Jordan Williams
  • Andreas Michailidis vs. Alex Pereira
  • Nassourdine Imavov vs. Edmen Shahbazyan

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • John Allan vs. Aleksa Camur
  • Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. TJ Laramie
  • Shane Burgos vs. Billy Quarantillo
  • Ode Osbourne vs. CJ Vergara
  • Chris Barnett vs. Gian Villante

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Luke Rockhold: ‘Stupid’ Sean Strickland is effective, but somewhat one-dimensional

Luke Rockhold knows he’s in for a tough fight in his return, but is confident that his well-rounded skills will help him prevail.

[autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] knows he’s in for a tough fight in his return but is confident that his well-rounded skills will help him prevail.

Returning from a lengthy layoff of more than two years, Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) meets the streaking [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) at UFC 268 on Nov. 6.

Though Strickland has shined in his current five-fight winning streak, Rockhold sees certain holes in his opponent’s game that he’s looking to take advantage of in the contest.

“As stupid as he looks and as stupid as he sounds, he’s effective,” Rockhold told MMA Junkie Radio. “Probably because he’s so stupid. He just comes forward, he’s got confidence in himself, and he doesn’t question it, and that’s dangerous, for sure. I think he’s somewhat one-dimensional, and being able to expose that is key. He’s just tough – tough and confident. That’s a big problem for a lot of people, so you’ve got to take that confidence from him.

“You’ve got to put him in positions he’s not comfortable with and finish it. I think he’s average everywhere. He’s hasn’t got a great ground game. He doesn’t have great wrestling. Decent boxing. He doesn’t kick much, but he’s tough. He’s tough, and he’s not going to take no for an answer kind of thing. He doesn’t have quit in him. You’ve got to make him quit.”

Unbeaten in his career at 185 pounds, Strickland is on his most impressive run to date. The 30-year-old is coming off a shutout of “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finalist Uriah Hall in July and has already logged in over an hour of octagon time since Rockhold last fought.

But now that Rockhold has recovered from a slew of injuries, he says he is rejuvenated to return and re-stake his claim at the top of the middleweight division.

“Recently I’ve gotten healthier, and I’ve got that urge to come back and to fight,” Rockhold said. “Being away from it for so long, it kind of builds it back up. Anyone can burn out in any sport, especially even more so in fighting, so time was well-deserved, well-needed, and it fired me back up to get back in there, and I still believe I’m the best. When I’m dedicating myself and put the time in and fight freely, I don’t think anyone can compete with me.”

To see the full interview with Rockhold, check out the video below.

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Sean Strickland fires back at ‘cocky motherf*cker’ Luke Rockhold with expletive-filled video message

Luke Rockhold’s recent statements have Sean Strickland fired up.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] is not one to mince words.

After [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) called him a “f*cking idiot” for his outspoken nature, Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) refuses to let him off the hook.

But the good thing is, they’ll get a chance to settle things when they square off at UFC 268 on Nov. 6.

“All these things, they might be true,” Strickland said in a video on his Instagram. “But I’ll tell you one thing: Me and you might never fight. I don’t care about fighting in the cage for ego reasons. I like to get paid at something I enjoy. But I’ll tell you f*cking one thing: You just can’t live in a radius of me and run your f*cking mouth and not expect for me to hit you in the face. We don’t need to fight, that’s fine. But I’m going to run into you at RVCA.

“I’m going to see you in the parking lot, and I’m going to walk up to you and smack you in the f*cking face, and you seem like the kind of p*ssy that runs his f*cking mouth and gets hit and then calls the cops. But you’re such a smug, cocky motherf*cker that I would probably take a misdemeanor charge just to smack you and watch your f*cking head bounce off the ground. So again, we don’t gotta fight. But don’t f*cking run your mouth because I’m going to see you again, and I’m going to smack you in the f*cking face.”

Strickland has recently made headlines for both his impressive octagon performances and his controversial statement afterward. The 30-year-old, who’s coming off a shutout of Uriah Hall this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 28, said that nothing would make him happier than to kill somebody in the cage.

The rising contender has won his past five in a row and will be making a quick turnaround when he takes on former UFC middleweight champion Rockhold, who’s returning from a more than two-year layoff.

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Luke Rockhold, Sean Strickland verbally agree to fight at UFC 268

For the first time since 2019, former champion Luke Rockhold closes in on bout finalization.

Pending bout finalization, former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] will return to the cage for the first time in more than two years this November.

Verbally agreed upon for Nov. 6 at UFC 268, Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will face off against surging contender [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]. While the event was originally targeted for Madison Square Garden in New York, new state COVID-19 guidelines have clouded the situation.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie on Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. TSN was first to report the targeted booking a day after UFC president Dana White revealed the fight was being discussed.

Rockhold, 36, announced in August 2020 his plans to continue MMA competition after a yearlong hiatus. However, matchmaking was an issue and Rockhold never officially had a fight on the books.

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Since he lost his UFC middleweight title to Michael Bisping at UFC 199 in June 2016, Rockhold has gone 1-2. His most recent outing came at UFC 239 in July 2019, when he was knocked out by future and current light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. The bout was a one-off at 205 pounds for Rockhold, who will return to middleweight to face Strickland.

The 30-year-old Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) rides a five-fight winning streak into the matchup. His most recent victory took place this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 28 when he defeated Uriah Hall via dominant unanimous decision in his first five-round main event with the promotion.

With the addition, the UFC 268 lineup includes:

  • Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje
  • Luke Rockhold vs. Sean Strickland

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Luke Rockhold confirms he’s been offered ‘f*cking idiot’ Sean Strickland for UFC return fight

Luke Rockhold reveals that Sean Strickland has indeed been offered to him, but the fight is not a done deal yet.

[autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] revealed [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] has indeed been offered to him, but the fight is not a done deal yet.

In a recent interview with TSN, Dana White said the UFC is trying to make a fight between Rockhold and Strickland happen, but is waiting on the former UFC middleweight champion to accept.

While Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) says no date has been offered, he seems to have settled for the matchup with Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC).

“I think Dana’s trying make it harder than it has to be, obviously just because of my outspokenness on different things,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “But this kid Sean has been offered (to me). So, I mean, they’re trying to do something. I haven’t heard any dates or anything like that, but that is something they’re interested in. And yeah, let’s do it. I mean, he’s not the most … he took a ranking, he did his thing, but he doesn’t help himself in any way, shape or form with his style and his performance on mics.”

Rockhold has been chomping at the bit to return, but has had a hard time finding an opponent that reignites his fire. He admitted Strickland wasn’t the fight he was initially hoping for, but after his recent win over Season 17 “Ultimate Fighter” finalist Uriah Hall, he became a little more intriguing.

“They offered me Sean actually a while back,” Rockhold said. “And I just wasn’t interested because he’s just a f*cking nobody. It wasn’t the fight I wanted. It didn’t make any sense. No one knew of him, and I didn’t give two f*cks about him. And now it’s like Dana’s trying to piss me off with it. And now he’s obviously been out there, he beat Uriah Hall, he looked decent and he took a ranking. So there’s something to work with I guess now.

“And everybody else, everybody else is really … they offered it to Uriah. Uriah chose Strickland instead of me. They offered the (Khamzat) Chimaev fight. Obviously that didn’t come to be. I liked that, too – that was exciting. That kind of got me up. I don’t know. This is what we have, and there were some other fights they kind of dicked around with. So this is seemingly going to happen. We’ve just got to get a good fight date and something that’s f*ckin’ sexy and timely.”

Rockhold has reiterated that coming back has to be worth his while. Although he’s lost three of his past four bouts, they’ve all come to either champions or former title challengers.

“I want a fight that’s intriguing. I’ve done my thing, I’ve been champion of two different divisions. I’ve taken my time away. I’ve been through lots of surgeries, and it’s like, I want something that’s going to get me fired up. And it just keeps falling through. And they’re like, ‘Sean Strickland.’ I’m like, ‘Who the f*ck is Sean Strickland? What the f*ck are you talking about?’ Is that going to make me come back?

“And so I was like, ‘You better give me something better than that.’ And nothing came to be. And month after month, it’s just like they f*ckin’ gave me a couple other options, and then those two options fell through, and everyone’s being a b*tch about every other option, and so here we go. This is it. F*ck it. I don’t care. The kid did his thing. He f*ckin’ got something of a name, I guess, got a little momentum – I’ll f*ckin’ take it.”

The 36-year-old hasn’t competed since getting knocked out by current UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in July 2019. Rockhold knows he’s no spring chicken, which is why he’s hoping his return materializes before the end of the year – and he wants it to be in front of a sold-out crowd.

“I’m older and I need time to put everything aside in my life and just go full force to give it my best opportunity to get in there,” Rockhold said. “So I mean, October, November – it’s probably the most likely story here at this point. I know they’ve got Madison Square Garden (in November), but it sounds like a lot of things are getting mixed back up and, you know, might pull back. Fighting in front of a crowd was the big thing for me, and I wanted to get back into a stadium and make it feel right. And going back into the (UFC) Apex just doesn’t sound f*ckin’ cool, doesn’t sound like a good return. So I don’t know. We’ll see. I haven’t got a fight date. How can you offer me an opponent? You’ve got to give me a fight date.

“I didn’t get exactly what (I wanted). It’s maybe not the fight that I exactly wanted. But you give me the right card. There’s still things that have to be worked out and have to be ironed out. It’s not a done deal. So put me on MSG. Put me on something big. Put me on something fun. Put me on something that makes me get up for it, because I’m not coming back for no reason.”

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Luke Rockhold hits out at UFC’s ‘mafioso-type’ negotiation tactics, urges fighters to ‘know your worth’

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has spoken out about the UFC’s negotiating tactics, likening their approach to the mafia.

[autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] has never had a problem speaking his mind, and he certainly had something to say on the topic of negotiating with the UFC when he appeared on a podcast this week.

Former UFC middleweight champion Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) appeared on BroBible’s “Rippin’ It” podcast to talk golf and fighting and, when asked about his modeling work, took aim at the UFC and Dana White over their approach to negotiations with fighters.

“Modeling’s modeling. The only reason I modeled in the first place is because fighting is like a mafia. They have these very mafioso-type tactics in negotiations. They try to f*ck with you. I’m not having any of it,” he said. “If you don’t know your worth, someone will tell you your worth and it’ll be less than your worth. So know your worth, and leverage yourself, too.”

Rockhold then explained how he ventured into modeling to help give him more negotiating leverage with the UFC by establishing a lucrative side gig that meant he could afford to say “no” to fight offers he felt were too low.

“Once I lost the world title, Dana White came up to me and tried to beat me down mentally, and I was like, ‘F*ck you’ – straight up,” Rockhold said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to go do my own thing. If you’re going to try and offer me this and that bullsh*t, you know who I am and you know what I did.’ That’s the only reason I went out and got a modeling contract – so I could leverage myself. So I went back and within a year I got the fragrance (deal) with Ralph Lauren. Then you’ve got Dana and them calling back to me like, ‘Hey Luke. What do you want to do? Can you fight here? Do you want this amount of money? Do you want that?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s right, motherf*cker!'”

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Rockhold went on to explain that the UFC isn’t held to account for its negotiating practices, and suggested MMA athletes needed a governing body to establish best practices to ensure fighters get a fair deal.

“We don’t have the governing body. That’s another problem, too. We’ve got an egotistical guy that’s a bit of a tyrant,” Rockhold said. “No one is going to try and fight you. You’ve got to put your f*cking ass on the line, stand your ground (and) take risks. Otherwise, you get treated like a b*tch. It’s unfortunate, a guy like (White). He thinks he can fight. He thinks he’s a fighter. I don’t know why he’s trying to belittle all the fighters when you’ve never fought a day in your life. You’re a promoter. We need a governing body to really give people what they deserve, because he doesn’t play the game right.”

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Luke Rockhold: Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to coach me, ‘be a big part of my comeback’

Khabib Nurmagomedov has offered Luke Rockhold a helping hand ahead of his return.

[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] has offered [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] a helping hand ahead of his return.

Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) says the recently retired Nurmagomedov reached out to him, wanting to help coach him for his comeback to the octagon. The pair spent years training under the tutelage of head coach Javier Mendez at American Kickboxing Academy and “The Eagle” now is looking to embark on a new chapter in his career.

“He’s assuming this coaching role now,” Rockhold told TMZ. “He’s like, ‘You can’t be the master. You can’t be the boss. I have to coach you.’ He’s going off on me, wanting to coach now. He wants to be a big part of my comeback. It’s pretty funny to see Khabib assume this role. He’s going for ‘Coach of the Year.’ That’s what he wants – he wants to be the next great thing and follow in his dad’s footsteps. That’s what his dad always did.”

Rockhold couldn’t help but laugh, telling Nurmagomedov, “We’ll see.” The former UFC middleweight champion has recently been splitting his time between Sanford MMA in Florida and RVCA Training Center in California as he gears up for his first fight since July 2019.

“I think realistically, it’s summer time – late summer return,” Rockhold said of his return. “I’ve got to get my body right. My shoulder’s been an ongoing issue, but it’s finally coming around and getting to a point where I have confidence in it to let it go. I’m pressing to get in shape and it feels good to be back in the gym – finally getting a little fire back.”

After a failed stint at light heavyweight in which he was stopped by current champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239, Rockhold will be returning to his original home at middleweight.

“I believe ’85 is my calling,” Rockhold said. “I’m about 205 pounds right now, and I’m just naturally there. It wasn’t really me to bulk up. I was lifting weights and doing my thing to get up to 205, and I could barely hold 215, 220 at best. I feel good. This is my championship weight. This is where I’ve done all my damage, and I like the route to victory, what’s ahead of me, so I’m ready to go.”

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Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold is the best MMA bromance you’ll see this week

You’d be well within your rights to presume there’s no love lost between former UFC middleweight champs Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold.

You’d be well within your rights to presume there’s no love lost between former UFC middleweight champions [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] and [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag].

We’re coming up on five years since Bisping pulled off a stunner with a short-notice knockout of Rockhold to win the 185-pound title at UFC 199. That win avenged a submission loss to Rockhold for Bisping, but it also set off plenty of bad blood between the two.

But Tuesday, if there are any lingering issues between the two, they were put on hold. We’re not saying they’re going to send each other Christmas cards since that generally doesn’t seem to happen when one of the parties called the other a “fa**ot c**ksucker” not long after their title fight.

So how did the former opponents become almost-BFFs, at least for a day? Let’s take a look.

Hablemos MMA #4: Entrevista con Brandon Moreno, resumen de UFC 252, noticias, y mas

Escucha el cuarto episodio de Hablemos MMA con Brandon Moreno.

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(Editor’s note: Hablemos MMA is MMA Junkie’s weekly Spanish-language podcast hosted by reporter Danny Segura. New episodes are released every Monday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more of your favorite podcasting platforms. You can also stream or download the latest episode above.)

En el cuarto episodio de Hablemos MMA, Danny Segura entrevista a [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] sobre el cambio a peso mosca de [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] y la pelea de titulo con [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag], haber perdido la oportunidad de pelear por el cinturón, su pelea contra Alex Perez en UFC 255, y mas.

También analizamos los resultados de UFC 252: [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] III, y repasamos las ultimas noticias de las artes marciales mixtas incluyendo el regreso de [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag], [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] rumbo a Bare Knuckle FC, fichajes de [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag], [autotag]Rodrigo Vargas[/autotag], y mucho mas.

Luke Rockhold eyes Chris Weidman in UFC return: ‘He keeps running his mouth’ about rematch

Luke Rockhold’s finish of Chris Weidman at UFC 194 was pretty definitive, but his incentive to rematch is purely to “shut him up.”

[autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] is nearing a return to the cage and is willing to run things back with the former champion he once dethroned.

Earlier this week, Rockhold confirmed that he won’t be retiring after all and is aiming to fight before the end of 2020. Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who hasn’t competed since July 2019, is currently rehabbing from shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff, which he expects to sideline him for another month.

Rockhold sees plenty of options for his comeback fight and wouldn’t mind rematching [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag], who he bounced out of the ranks of the unbeaten to win the middleweight title in 2015 at UFC 194.

“I’m looking at whoever’s available in the current climate of when I’m ready,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “Chris Weidman seems to think he’s back in business. I beg to differ. So, you know, he’s always wanting to run it back, and I wouldn’t mind sending him back.”

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The pair were scheduled for an immediate rematch at UFC 199, but Weidman was forced to pull out and replaced by Michael Bisping, who went on to score the upset knockout over Rockhold. The rematch between Rockhold and Weidman never materialized.

Since then, Rockhold and Weidman have faced multiple setbacks, including failed attempts at light heavyweight for the both of them.

But Weidman (15-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) finally got back in the win column in his return to 185 pounds when he defeated Omari Akhmedov by unanimous decision last weekend at UFC on ESPN+ 32.

Rockhold, who’s also moving back down to middleweight for his next fight, was far from impressed with Weidman’s performance, calling it “pathetic.”

“Maybe he had weight issues or what,” Rockhold said. “I mean, it looked like a heavyweight fight. It looked like a low-level heavyweight fight. I don’t know. I didn’t like it.”

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Rockhold’s finish of Weidman at UFC 194 was pretty definitive, but his incentive to rematch Weidman is purely to “shut him up.”

“I mean, what’s worse than beating up a guy and then he keeps running his mouth,” Rockhold said.

Despite losing three of his past four, the former UFC middleweight champ doesn’t see much ground to make up in his return. Rockhold is also targeting the top of the division, looking at the likes of Darren Till and Jack Hermansson as possible next opponents.

“There’s Darren Till, there’s the grappler, the Norwegian kid, he looks good. Hermansson looks tough,” Rockhold said. “I want somebody who means something and is a name, something meant to be. I left the division the No. 2 ranked middleweight in the world. So, they can say what they want because I’m unranked at the moment, but I can come back and reassert myself very quickly if I need to.”

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