Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold appeared recently on Submission Radio and explained why new division champion Georges St-Pierre needs to vacate the title, his talks with the UFC to fight Whittaker at UFC 221, wanting to fight Bisping before he retires, and lots more!

Unfortunately, it sounds like we have a hold up and it’s gonna take some time to iron out what’s next,” he said. “So, this is my whole point, this is what I talked about beforehand, GSP saw a weakness in Bisping and it was a one-and-done kind of thing. I know he’s contractually obligated to defend his belt, but as you and we all heard on the mic, he’s backtracking and he’s trying to find his way out, seemingly.

I’d said there was an opportunity, I thought he was at a deficit, and it looked like he was at first, but he pulled it off. Congrats to him, but figure it out, man, cause I’m ready to go, I know Whittaker is ready to go and obviously he sees GSP and he wants his payday, but is he gonna get that? How long is he gonna drag his feet for?

I’ve talked about [fighting Interim champion Robert Whittaker] with the UFC and it’s potentially on the table, but I’m not going out there to fight for the interim title. GSP needs to figure it out and he needs to move on, get out. Robert Whittaker was the real champion before. Bisping lost that title in my eyes a long time ago when he decided to fight guys outside the top 10, and welterweights for that matter. You know, he earned it, he got the title, but Whittaker’s been the man for the last year or so. You know, he’s fought Jacare, fought Yoel, he’s fought some top contenders, and that’s what it takes to be a champion. So, in my eyes, Whittaker’s the champ.

I’ll be ready to go to Perth, it’s a matter of how this whole thing plays out and we’ll see.

I think it’s ridiculous if they were to let [GSP] hold onto it and pull that, not him relinquish that and go down to fight Tyron, seemingly like it sounds like he wants to do. I think they should just get back to what made this company what it is, you know? (If) you go too far down the wrong trail, there’s no turning back, and so you go into Conor McGregor-land and you get that fight going and it just, the whole thing’s a mess. They need to just put the best against the best in each division and stop jumping around.

I’m staying sharp, I’m trying to get healthy. I’ve got some issues with my feet, my ankles from the last fight and camp, and so just nursing, getting healthy, getting sharp, staying ready and I’m waiting for the big fight. If they wait, obviously everyone knows what I want. It’s Bisping. It’s Bisping, and if it’s his last fight, he’s going to London – the man he says he didn’t get lucky, the man says he’s better than me, he’s been running his mouth forever, then put your money where your mouth is. I’ll even go show up on your front doorstep and I’ll take your head off in London. It would be my pleasure. Step up.

Whittaker is number one. I mean, the title is number one. That’s what it is. Of course, Bisping would be sweet. That’s number two, 100 percent. I’m tired of him running his mouth, saying this, saying that. You think you’re better? You think a lot of that situation. He claims he’s such a tough guy, I’ll go show up there any day, any time, right there at his advantage where he gets all his favorable decisions, but that fight’s not going the distance. I wouldn’t even… I would promise him, at this point, I wouldn’t even take him down. I’d fight him wherever he may like the fight to be.

“If [Bisping]’s gonna go fight again, there’s no one else he should fight. … And if he’s gonna run away like most of us expect him to do, then I think it’s a very telling situation. But, if you’re gonna fight again, you better damn well believe I should be the guy.

I’m not gonna sit around and wait forever. Of course, I want the title fight. I want a trilogy with Bisping and I wanna finish that episode, I wanna put him away. And then Yoel, he’s the next best guy. So, I’m here to fight the best. My reasoning is right there, pretty plain and simple. Anybody can figure that out.

Yeah, a five-round fight is how we fight anybody – the best guys in the world, we all deserve five-round fights. Three-round fights are stupid. In my eyes, they don’t really tell who the better fighter is, there’s too many variables. You have to force fights and you have to rely on the judges. I’m a tactical fighter, I wait and I fight my fight. In the top five, I think every fight should be a five-round fight.

With all that said, it hinges on when Rockhold can fight.

“End of year isn’t out of the question,” he said. “I want the biggest fight possible for me right now. So, I’m looking to f***in’ make my paychecks. So we’ll see how it all plays out, but I’m staying on my game, I ain’t taking any time off, I’m working around what I have to and I’ll be ready when the time comes. So, I think you can expect something announced here shortly. I would imagine they’re pretty eager to figure this thing out.

Number one, Perth, let’s do this thing. That’s at the top of my list.