Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold received a tirade of insults and warnings from his next opponent, David Branch
Rockhold recounted the frustrations he had finding an opponent with Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of the MMA Hour, claiming that he was willing to move up to heavyweight in order to secure a bout:
“I’ve tried to get everybody I could possibly think about to get a fight that really got me up, but no one would take a fight,” Rockhold said (via MMAFighting). “And now we’ve come down to David Branch [who] was the only guy in the top 10 that would take a fight. From June to July to August to September, and it’s time.”
Branch, who will welcome Rockhold back to the octagon following the latter’s one year lay off with injury, was clearly upset at the 32-year-old’s choice of words. The #9 ranked middleweight took to Twitter to voice his grievances:
#Lucas @LukeRockhold on punk ass @arielhelwani show talkin that nonsense… Yeah aight. I'll see you in my office?? I get the chicken ?????? pic.twitter.com/v1MyFK5UzF
— David Branch (@DavidcBranchMMA) August 7, 2017
“Yo, Lucas, man, What the f**k [sic] is you talking man? I heard your little punk ass f**kin’ interview on Ariel Helwani. Self-doubt? Motherf**er, what the f**k is you talking about? I haven’t lost a fight in five mother f**kin’ years. You can’t box, and you ain’t got no f**kin’ chin. You’re getting in the motherfuckin’ cage with me? Are you stupid?”
Rockhold responded, making light of Branch’s choice to wear a hat and sunglasses in the barber’s chair:
wtf are u doin in barber chair w/ a bib a beanie, hiding behind those cheap ass sunglasses. U will do nothing
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) August 8, 2017
This may very well be the beginning of yet another UFC/Twitter war…
