Rockhold: I apologize to Bisping, that piece of $#!^

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, and discussed his title loss to Michael Bisping.

“I got caught,” said Rockhold, as transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMA Mania. “A lot went into that fight with the Michael Bisping last-minute change. The pressure of the moment. I feel like I didn’t have much to gain without going out there and putting on a show-stopping performance, something different. The way I dominated him the first time around and given the two weeks notice, just, the moment, the build up and everyone rode him off like he had no chance; It got into my head and told me these things.

“I didn’t go in there with the same feel, the same head space as I do with every other fight. I go in there relaxed and composed and I try to be calculated with my fights. And with that one I tried to push the pace and force the issue with everything. I put myself in a dangerous position and I’ve never been put away like that, I’ve been hit by the hardest guys.

“Anyone can get caught in this game if you hit them perfectly. He’s a tough guy, not going to lie. He won fair and square, but the odds of that happening again are fairly low. He caught me on the tip of the chin on my way out and followed it up.

“Congrats to him, he won. I think the guy is a true piece of s*** and I think he is classless. I’d love the opportunity to get that back and right that wrong and fix this for everybody because I don’t think he deserves it. I don’t think he knew he was going to do it, you can tell by his reaction. It’s not going to last long. I want to settle the score. I was winning both fights handily. He had his moment, but that will be it.”

Rockhold said he is recovering from a previous knee injury, and is not yet back in training. He also said he has spoken with the UFC about getting a rematch, and is hopeful that he will.