Luke Rockhold has two opponents in mind for his return to active mixed martial arts (MMA) competition.
Rockhold hasn’t competed since his stunning knockout loss to Michael Bisping back in June 2016. The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) bruiser lost his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title in the process.
For a moment, it appeared as if Rockhold would finally be getting back to action against Anderson Silva at UFC 212 on June 3. UFC president Dana White said going through with the bout is a “process” and couldn’t say it was a done deal.
Rockhold recently said that if he can’t convince Silva to fight him, then he’ll turn his attention to Robert Whittaker, who is coming off a stunning TKO win over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (via Flo Combat):
“It sounds like there is interest. It sounds like it could happen. It just depends on Anderson’s team. It seems like it takes a long time for his team to agree to a fight. The only other interest is the fight with Whittaker. If the Anderson fight does take place, I look forward to going into Brazil where they say they want to ‘kill the American.’ I’ve done it before. I’ve been through it. Anderson is tough. People underestimate him. Match-up wise, I think I am horrible for him. I can go in there and break his legs. I can use my powerful kicking style. I would back him into a corner, break him down and put him away. Whether it’s on the ground or on the feet, I can beat him any way I want. It’s about implementing my game plan and making him realize everything I have and start questioning himself.”
