Luke Rockhold reveals the one opponent he wishes he could have fought in his UFC career

It’s up in the air whether Luke Rockhold ever returns to fighting, but there’s one opponent he wishes he had the chance to fight.

Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has been on top of the ladder for most of his MMA career, capturing both the Strikeforce and UFC middleweight titles, and holds wins over the likes of Ronaldo Souza, Michael Bisping, Lyoto Machida and Chris Weidman.

But one man he didn’t get the chance to compete against is one of the greatest fighters of all time, former UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva. It’s a fight Rockhold said almost came to fruition – had he won his UFC debut.

“I wish I would have had the chance to fight Anderson,” Rockhold said on the “Major Waves Podcast.” “Especially in that time, I think I would have beat him. I don’t know – I think there’s just promotional reasons. They didn’t see it quite right at that time. If I would have beat Vitor (Belfort), then me and Anderson would have fought right away, straight away. But then I had to go reprove myself through the ranks after that loss.”

After capturing the UFC middleweight title in 2015, handing Weidman his first loss, Rockhold’s career didn’t play out as projected.

He was scheduled to rematch Weidman, but a last-minute injury forced Weidman out and he was replaced by a familiar foe in Bisping. Rockhold was a heavy favorite in the title fight, considering he finished Bisping in 2014 and Bisping took the bout on short notice.

Instead, he was on the receiving end of one of the the biggest upsets in UFC title history when Bisping stunned him with a first-round knockout to claim the title.

While Rockhold would have loved to settle his rivalry with Bisping in a trilogy fight, he knows that’s highly unlikely considering Bisping has been retired since 2018.

“I think I just kind of came to the conclusion where I’m just content with it,” Rockhold said. “Obviously, there’s easy fights where I’d like them back and I knew that I could have wrote that story differently – like my second fight with Bisping. But I’m not going to get that. I’m a realist.”

Rockhold hasn’t definitively said he’s done fighting, but is currently enjoying his time off.

“I’m taking a leave of absence,” Rockhold said. “I’m just kind of doing my thing right now – getting life organized, getting things together. It’s good to be back on the West Coast. I was training out in Florida and it’s just – Florida’s tough. It’s hot, it’s humid – it’s a different lifestyle.”