Luke Rockhold talks Weidman, Belfort, Jon Jones and more
The following is from a third party:
Luke Rockhold returned to Submission Radio this week.
Luke discussed his advantages over Chris Weidman “I’m going to employ my will on the feet. I’ve got more weapons on the feet. You can’t outwrestle me. Weidman’s biggest strength is his wrestling and his pressure, and I’m not guy that he can just come in there and pressure and outwrestle and dominate.” It’s clear to see Luke is mentally prepared for a fight with Weidman “I’m more than prepared to take that title.”
Although most fans want to see Luke fight Chris Weidman he has no preference over who he fights for the middleweight title “Really, I win either way. Either way I think it’s a beautiful match up for me on both ends, it’s a big sell. We got Weidman. You got east coast, west coast, you got an all American battle, and you got the true champ. I mean the guy went out there and dominated – this would be his third Brazilian legend in a row. So he would undeniably be the best out there in middleweight for some time. And [with] Vitor, then you got bad blood. Then you got that genuine rivalry, and you got me coming for revenge. I love it either way.”
When it comes to his thoughts about Vitor Belfort Luke is clear that he think’s his entire career is a “joke” due to some of his issues with PED’s “Vitor is a joke. I’ll say it and I’ll say it again. The guy hasn’t fought clean once in his whole life. I think his whole career is a joke. But I’d be more than willing to go out there and finish that one too. That’s my opinion.”
Luke wasn’t impressed with Jon Jones and his latest issues “Oh it’s just unbelievable. I’m completely blown away by his actions and what he’s done and I’m just like, it’s hard to really fathom what that whole situation” with Jon getting away with previous issues Luke added “Maybe he gets away with it. I don’t know. (Laughs) It wouldn’t surprise me if he did.”
Finally in response to Dana White’s criticism of AKA saying they were stuck in the stone ages Luke responded “I think there’s a reason why we’re the best camp in the world, and we push each other just like we need to push each other. I don’t really have many comments for that. We fight, we’re the guys on top, we’re the best gym. So who knows how to train better than us? So that’s my opinion.”
Transcript
On Jon Jones hit and run incident
“Oh it’s just unbelievable. I’m completely blown away by his actions and what he’s done and I’m just like, it’s hard to really fathom what that whole situation – it’s just, piece by piece it keeps getting worse and worse, and I just don’t understand. The guy’s got the world at his finger tips and he just completely…..I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going through his head”
“You know obviously I feel for the girl. Sounds like he’s done for quite some time.”
“Maybe he gets away with it. I don’t know. (Laughs) It wouldn’t surprise me if he did.”
On advantages over Weidman
“I’d say that I’m going to employ my will on the feet. I’ve got more weapons on the feet. You can’t outwrestle me. Weidman’s biggest strength is his wrestling and his pressure, and I’m not a guy that he can just come in there and pressure and outwrestle and dominate. Not at this size, not at middleweight, not anywhere really that much. I’m in there training with DC and Cain [Velasquez], so I’m used to big wrestlers that try to bully me.”
“Obviously I feel comfortable on the ground. I think my grappling is second to none and I believe I’m the better striker in that match up. So it’s just controlling and just hitting him on the feet and making him pay for trying to wrestle me.”
“Weidman’s that champion, he’s a tough, tough guy. I respect him in so many ways. He’s got power, he’s got wrestling, but I’m more than prepared to take that title.”
On if Rockhold would be disappointed if he didn’t get the next title shot
“I would make most of whatever situation presented itself. If it were Jacare [Souza], I wouldn’t mind finishing that businesses that we already had. I don’t think it would be the same as last time. I’ve grown a lot, I was a young kid and I was very unsure of myself at that time, and this is a different time and a different me. I believe I’m the number one contender. I think my performances speak for themselves. I think I went out there and did something to Lyoto that not many people or anybody have done before. So quality of opponents and fashion on finishing fights, I think is worthy. But we’ll see how it plays out. I feel good about it.”
On who Luke would rather fight, Vitor Belfort or Chris Weidman
“Really, I win either way. Either way I think it’s a beautiful match up for me on both ends, it’s a big sell. We got Weidman. You got east coast, west coast, you got an all American battle, and you got the true champ. I mean the guy went out there and dominated – this would be his third Brazilian legend in a row. So he would undeniably be the best out there in middleweight for some time. And [with] Vitor, then you got bad blood. Then you got that genuine rivalry, and you got me coming for revenge. I love it either way. I’m looking to go out there and prove myself as the best fighter in the world. I think either way I accomplish that. [If] Weidman goes out there and beats Vitor, makes it look easy, I think we all know that story. I come out there and beat Weidman. On top of that, that proves that I’m the best in the world, I’m the better guy, I got caught by a lucky kick, I go out there and get that revenge against Vitor and there’d be nothing sweeter. Nothing sweeter. You know I’m happy; either way it’s a beautiful situation for me. I think Weidman is a better fighter, I think he wins, and truthfully that’s why I like the guy. I’d prefer him to win.”
On why he picks Weidman over Belfort
“Vitor is a joke. I’ll say it and I’ll say it again. The guy hasn’t fought clean once in his whole life. I think his whole career is a joke. But I’d be more than willing to go out there and finish that one too. That’s my opinion.”
On Dana White saying AKA is stuck in the stone ages due to training too hard and too many injuries happening
“I think there’s a reason why we’re the best camp in the world, and we push each other just like we need to push each other. I don’t really have many comments for that. We fight, we’re the guys on top, we’re the best gym. So who knows how to train better than us? So that’s my opinion.”