Luke Rockhold is having a hard time finding a suitable opponent for his upcoming return to the UFC.
Former UFC champion Luke Rockhold is getting ready for his return to the UFC. He has been out of competition since his last fight back in July 2019. He has taken some time off but is now looking to return to middleweight, the division where he won his UFC title and his home for the majority of his career. Rockhold recently spoke on the Real Quick With Mike Swick podcast about the difficulty he has had finding a suitable opponent for his return.
“It’s really about fighting someone who’s going to fight,” Rockhold said. “I need to find a top 10 guy who’s willing to sack up and ready to fight. There are already multiple people in the top 10 making excuses for why they won’t fight me. It’s like who the f–k are you to turn down the fight? Where’s your entitlement in what you think you have?”
Before his hiatus, Rockhold made the move to light heavyweight and took on current champion Jan Balchowicz. Rockhold explained that he is returning to middleweight and is even walking around at about 205 pounds right now. He was removed from the rankings when he took the time off but feels that he will reenter the top 10 with a win over a top-ten opponent.
“We’ve been hunting down the list looking for something credible, something fun, something exciting,” Rockhold said. “I’m not just going to fight anyone, I want something that gets me excited, gets the fans excited, something that makes somewhat of sense. So I want to come back in and do this thing right.”
No timeline for return was mentioned although this summer makes sense if a dance partner can be found. In the past, Rockhold has had some issues with Dana White but now it seems all is well and once a match is made, Rockhold will be back and at 36 years old, looking for one more run at UFC gold.
Who do you want to see Luke Rockhold fight in his return to the UFC?