Rockhold moving to 205, says Gus I’m coming for that @$$
Luke Rockhold: “I’ll be coming to 205. I’m gonna handle my business and you better be sure I’m coming for that ass, too.”
Former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour and said he is moving up a division.
I don’t see me coming back, man, said Rockhold, 33, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. The weight cut is too much on me. As you get older, your bones get bigger. The last couple cuts have been pretty brutal on me. I had trouble regulating my body temperature and all that s***. It’s not fun. It’s not a fun cut anymore. I’m a different fighter at 205. That weight cut is taking a lot out of me.
Rockhold’s last fight was vs. Yoel Romero at UFC 221 in Western Australia where the commission doesn’t do early weigh-ins.
We had to make weight and stress out through the staging process like the old days, said Rockhold. It’s not the best situation. We stayed depleted for a number of hours. … I was pretty upset by that whole process.
Top light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson has a message for Rockhold.
Beware of coming up in weight because I will be standing at the front door waiting, said the Sweded.
That seemed to amuse Rockhold.
I like it, he said. I think it was petty coming after me so early [after the KO loss to Romero]. I don’t know if he was trying to get under DC’s skin, but I’ll be coming. I’ll be coming to 205. I’m gonna handle my business and you better be sure I’m coming for that ass, too.
One fight that is apparently not happening is a trilogy fight with middleweight Michael Bisping.
I can categorically on the record state that I have not been offered a fight with him on July 7, said Bisping to MMA Fighting. He shouldn’t be so keen to get knocked out again anyway. Stick to modeling. Judging by his last three fights, MMA certainly doesn’t appear his thing anymore.
MMA is of course still Rockhold’s thing, but he shouldn’t have to move up 20 pounds. Part of Andy Foster’s plan to end the culture of extreme weight cutting in MMA is some new divisions, including one at 195. It’s time for the UFC to consider some divisions. There are some great title fight possibilities. And it should mean we don’t have Overeem vs. Blaydes as a PPV main event.