Luke Rockhold says he can’t find a top-ranked opponent who’s willing to fight him.
Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has been gearing up for his return for several months now and finally appears ready to make his octagon comeback after deciding against retirement in August 2020. But the former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion says numerous fighters have rejected to welcome him back and he’s struggling to find a worthy opponent.
“It’s really about fighting someone’s who’s going to fight,” Rockhold told Mike Swick on the “Real Quick with Mike Swick” podcast. “I need to fight a top 10 guy who’s ready to sack up and ready to fight. There’s already multiple people in the top 10 making excuses why they don’t want to fight me. Who the f***k are you to turn down a fight? Where’s your entitlement and what you think you have?
“My last fight, it’s against Yoel Romero missing weight for a world title in Perth two and a half years ago. I’ve left the rankings, but I haven’t really left the rankings. I’m still there just as much as I want to be and everyone knows who I am and what I can do, and I think everyone’s just making excuses to why they don’t want to fight me right now. We’ve been hunting down the list and trying to find something credible, something fun, something exciting.”
Rockhold, who’s undergone multiple procedures including shoulder surgery in his time off, says he’s not willing to step in there with just anyone. Although he’s currently out of the UFC’s middleweight rankings due to inactivity, he thinks his resume speaks for itself and he wants to be able to pick up right where he left off when he was a contender at 185 pounds.
“I’m not just going to fight anybody,” Rockhold said. “It’s like I want something that gets me excited, gets the fans excited and has a little momentum – something that makes somewhat of sense. So I want to come back in and I want to do this thing right.
“I’m just here to prove to myself. I just know that I have a lot left to give. I know that I haven’t performed to my potential. There’s certain weights and things that have been on my shoulders. So I know if I can go out there, and I can be present and give it my all, then I can go out there and do things that no one has ever seen from me yet, and I can go out there and beat everybody in my path.”
Luke Rockhold says multiple top 10 fighters turned him down: ‘Everyone’s just making excuses’