Who’s up for another interim title?
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold, has abandoned his post at 185 pounds after a series of increasingly difficult weight cuts, instead opting for greener pastures in the light heavyweight class.
Just don’t expect him to waste time working his way up the 205-pound ladder, as Rockhold (16-4) already has his sights set on two-time title contender Alexander Gustafsson, which should land him another championship title.
The part-time model elaborates to Submission Radio:
“There’s a lot of interest in the fight. He’s a guy that’s been right there, that’s only lost to champions. He’s the top, he’s the cream of the crop in the division. You beat him, you basically are the champion. The only problem is that DC is the champion. So, what? I go fight Alexander Gustafsson when DC is fighting for the heavyweight title? I’m not gonna fight Gustafsson for nothing, and I’m not gonna put myself in the position where it creates a weird moment for me and DC. So, I think it all depends on what happens with this fight with him and Stipe. If that goes forward, yeah, I mean, I’ll fight Gustafsson. But once you beat Gustafsson, if DC’s out – If I beat Gustafsson, I should be the fucking champion. Just realistically. And I mean, if you think about it, he is the man to beat, other than DC. And so the whole division is in a weird space.”
If this guy was still here, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
The “weird space” was created when the promotion allowed reigning 205-pound champion, Daniel Cormier, the opportunity to head north and challenge heavyweight kingpin Stipe Miocic, a fight that happens this summer at the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27.
Until then, the man to beat is “The Mauler,” who appears to have no problem welcoming Rockhold to his new home. When and where that fight gets booked remains to be seen, but it sounds like we can say finally goodbye to this rubber match.
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