Luke Rockhold News

Tom Taylor - February 11, 2018

Last night, in the main event of UFC 221, former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold stepped into the cage with the dangerous Yoel Romero. If Rockhold had won this fight, he would have captured the UFC interim middleweight title and effectively guaranteed himself a fight with undisputed middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. Unfortunately for Rockhold and his fans, Romero was the better man in the cage on fight night. After two close rounds, throughout which Rockhold landed some meaningful offense of his own, Romero landed the shots that mattered most in the third. First, he knocked the former champion on his butt with a left hand. Then, he finished him off with one of the nastiest kill shots we’ve seen in some time.

Chris Taylor - February 10, 2018

UFC 221 Results: Luke Rockhold vs Yoel Romero A middleweight tilt between Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero served as the main event of tonight’s UFC 221 pay-per-view event in Perth, Australia.

Justin Golightly - February 10, 2018

Here’s our interview with @LukeRockhold, and he’s clearly feeling some type of way about @YoelRomeroMMA missing weight… #UFC221 https://t.co/G5aQ44nScp — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 10, 2018

Justin Golightly - February 10, 2018

While most of us slept, all hell was breaking loose. Some of you may have been up to see that Yoel Romero initially missed weight, stepping to the scale at 188 pounds for his 185 pound interim title fight with Luke Rockhold. Since Australia didn’t perform the normal early morning weigh-ins, the evening ceremonial weigh-ins were the first time the fighters would be stepping on the scale. Romero would have two hours to be on weight or it would put the fight in jeopardy. His second and last attempt late last night wasn’t much better than the first. He weighed in at 187.7 pounds and chaos reigned. https://t.co/wBTcp3hOfI

Justin Golightly - February 9, 2018

As the middleweight division spins effortlessly back into chaos again, two men will try to set it back on its axis tomorrow. Luke Rockhold will fight Yoel Romero at the main event of UFC 221 for an interim middleweight title, created in response to newly-awarded undisputed champ Robert Whittaker’s triple threat health bomb. Romero and Rockhold have been on a collision course for years and now they finally get to scrap. He thinks he’s better everywhere and his coaches believe him too. It’s hard to say [who is the worse match-up for Luke Rockhold] because they both have different strengths. Yoel [Romero] is very explosive, great wrestling, but [Robert] Whittaker is good everywhere and a very dangerous striker. They’re both different, but the thing is with Luke, Luke’s good everywhere. So Luke can finish those guys in every department, where they can’t. They can’t finish Luke everywhere, they can’t finish Luke on the ground, they can’t do this with Luke. Luke can do that to anybody.”

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

The UFC’s middleweight division has been a mess that no one has been able to clean up, but Luke Rockhold think it may be its white knight. From Michael Bisping to Georges St-Pierre, then to Robert Whittaker, now an interim title created due to his laundry list of ailments, it’s hard to keep track of the gold belt. No matter what though, Rockhold maintains that if he takes out Romero this weekend in emphatic fashion, that he won’t be just an interim champ, but you can go ahead and call him the real deal. “Slight difference but this was bound to happen one way or the other. [Robert] Whittaker would have been first, Yoel [Romero] would’ve been second. Yoel’s first, so Whittaker will be second. I’m up for the task. I’m not lacking in any way. I’m prepared to fight the best guys in the world. It’s a shame it’s not gonna be for the undisputed title but Whittaker beat Yoel to be the interim champion. I’m gonna beat Yoel to be the interim champion. It’s a matter of who did it better is gonna be the real champion at the end of this thing. So that’s the way I see it.”

Drake Riggs - February 6, 2018

If you’re a fan of Bellator, then you know exactly who Jimmy Smith is. Many have called him “Bellator’s Joe Rogan”, but they can’t call him that anymore! Bellator’s longtime color commentator, Smith recently parted ways with the organization that he was the voice of. He now finds himself with yep…you guessed it, the UFC. At UFC 221 in Perth, Australia this Saturday, Smith will make his UFC commentary debut and in the main event is a big middleweight matchup between Yoel Romero and the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. The winner takes with them the interim title which inevitably leads to a meeting with the undisputed champion, Robert Whittaker.

Justin Golightly - February 2, 2018

Everyone knows by now that Daniel Cormier will be going up to challenge Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title, if you were one of the few who didn’t, we hope you were sitting down. The gigantic fight will culminate after the 27th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will feature undefeated prospects in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. Cormier and Miocic’s official teams have already been announced, but as any previous viewer of the show knows, there are always a few guest coaches. Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold may just be one of them. Spoke to @LukeRockhold, who leaves for Perth tomorrow. Told me Javier Mendez and Bob Cook will be in his corner at 221, and he expects he’ll appear on TUF at some point for DC. Still very much Team AKA, in addition to coaches Henri Hooft and Greg Jones.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2018

Next weekend, in the main event of UFC 221 in Perth, Australia, former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold will battle Yoel Romero for the UFC interim middleweight title. Originally, Rockhold was expected to battle undisputed champion Robert Whittaker on the card, but he still stands to win UFC gold all the same. Long-time middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza doesn’t feel this is right. ”They are always complicating things for me,” Souza told MMAFighting of the title situation at middleweight. “[Luke] Rockhold just beat David Branch, who came from another promotion, and is fighting for the belt. The criteria is different with me, I always have to fight one more time. I honestly think that I have to fight one more, but why only me? Rockhold just beat Branch, man, and is fighting for an interim belt? Do you get what I’m saying?”

Justin Golightly - January 26, 2018

The middleweight division was just on the verge of reaching a relatively normal state of affairs and then an injury sent it right back into chaos. Georges St-Pierre bowed out of the division and left his new title behind. Whittaker was promoted to the undisputed champion but had to pull out of his first defense. Yoel Romero was immediately booked into Whittaker’s fight with Luke Rockhold and it was changed into an interim title bout. If you’re confused, don’t worry, Kelvin Gastelum is too. He thought he was a shoe-in for the shot after his performance at UFC Shanghai, but the UFC had other plans. “It does bother me a little bit that I haven’t even been considered for a shot, but it is what it is, I know this is a process, and I’m just dealing with the process. What I do think set me back was Robert Whittaker getting hurt and them making that match-up for the interim [middleweight] belt. That sets every middleweight back, because the winner is going to have to fight Whittaker. It’s just going to have to be a process for anyone to get a title shot.” — Kelvin Gastelum speaking to MMA Junkie.

Justin Golightly - January 16, 2018

The combat world wept when Robert Whittaker had to back out of his fight with Luke Rockhold, especially since it was going to set the middleweight division right for the first time in roughly two years. However, the tears quickly dried when we learned we were going to get Yoel Romero fighting Rockhold at UFC 221 instead. It’s a fight that we’ve somehow never got, but now here it is right in front of us. Luke Rockhold is fine with the change in opponent as well, which he believes is an easier fight than he was in before hand. “It’s not an ideal situation, of course. I’m going across the world to fight a guy that I could fight down the street. I wanted to fight [Robert] Whittaker. It’s a fight I’ve been seeking for a long time and I thought it was a good time to make it happen, but obviously he’s got some health issues. I wish him the best and I know Whittaker’s not a man to run away from anything. I respect that kid and I wish him the best. I hope it’s not too serious. Yoel [Romero] was the option right off the bat, and I’m ready to fight as long as the money’s right, the belt’s on the line.”

Justin Golightly - January 13, 2018

Damn…. @aliabdelaziz000 @ufc @mickmaynard2 @danawhite I wish Yoel and Lucas the best, speedy recovery champ. 😔 A post shared by David Branch (@davidbranch32) on Jan 13, 2018 at 4:33am PST

Justin Golightly - December 14, 2017

It was like magic. Georges St-Pierre left the middleweight division and a tidal wave of movement happened with no one having to fight each other. Luke Rockhold got a middleweight title shot — not an interim bout, but for the undisputed title — against Robert Whittaker and contenders all got bumped up a notch. Not everyone can be happy though, Kelvin Gastelum thought he deserved the shot after knocking out Michael Bisping and made sure everyone knew it. Rockhold shrugged his opinion off and promised if he kept it up, he can get smacked down in good time. “Given how ridiculous things are, I mean, yeah, of course there’s the [thoughts of] are they really gonna take that step [and give Kelvin Gastelum the fight], are they really gonna keep falling further within that realm? But everybody obviously, people came to me and made polls or whatever and I know I was at the top of every list. I know I’ve proven myself, I’ve accomplished things in this sport, whereas little midgets like Kelvin Gastelum haven’t. I’ve destroyed Chris Weidman, which he got destroyed by Weidman, so it’s like ehh. This kid hasn’t beaten really anybody and done anything in this sport, and for him to run his mouth, it’s pretty funny. It’s laughable. He’ll find out for real if he continues his efforts at 185. I’d slap that kid down real quick. Real quick.”

Tom Taylor - December 12, 2017

Shortly after winning the UFC middleweight title with an exciting, third-round submission of Michael Bisping, Georges St-Pierre vacated that title, citing ongoing health concerns that will likely keep him on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. Shortly after this development, the UFC elevated its interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker to undisputed champion. Whittaker’s first defense as undisputed middleweight champion is now set, as he’s scheduled to take on former champion Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC 221, which goes down this February 11 in Perth, Western Australia.

Tom Taylor - December 12, 2017

Shortly after winning the UFC middleweight title with an exciting, third-round submission of Michael Bisping, Georges St-Pierre vacated that title, citing ongoing health concerns that will likely keep him out of action for some time. In the wake of this development, the UFC promoted its interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker to undisputed champion. Whittaker’s first defense as undisputed middleweight champion is now set, as he’s scheduled to take on former champion Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC 221, which goes down this February 11 in Perth, Western Australia.

Justin Golightly - December 9, 2017

It didn’t take Nostradamus to predict that Kelvin Gastelum wasn’t going to like Luke Rockhold getting the title shot against Robert Whittaker. The next day after Georges St-Pierre announced he was leaving the middleweight division, the title was vacated and the UFC made Rockhold’s fight in Perth with Whittaker for the undisputed belt. Gastelum felt like he deserved it after knocking out Michael Bisping, who just carried the title a month ago, and has been pleading his case over social media ever since. “I knew Luke Rockhold and I were both in the front-running for this fight. I was then told Robert Whittaker wanted the tougher fight and he picked Rockhold. In my opinion that is the easier fight because I feel I’m the toughest fight for anyone in this division. I think Whittaker took the easier fight by going with Luke. He’s absolutely worried about me and for good reason. He and I have trained together in the past and know what the other is all about. We know what the other brings to the table.”

Drake Riggs - December 7, 2017

Well, the speculation has ended, Georges St-Pierre’s Middleweight title reign has come to an end before it could even really begin. After it was announced that Robert Whittaker would fight Luke Rockhold at UFC 221, it was assumed that Whittaker would be defending a title… It was just unclear whether or not it would be his Interim title or if St-Pierre would be vacating his Middleweight title making Whittaker the new undisputed champion. The latter has been announced as the case. https://twitter.com/ufc/status/938951789835177984

Drake Riggs - December 7, 2017

There were rumblings and rumors floating around about this fight potentially coming to fruition. Especially after current UFC Middleweight champion, Georges St-Pierre’s recent news regarding whether or not he’ll come back to the division where he said, “I don’t think so”.  GSP is battling ulcerative colitis anyway so prior to his recent interview it was expected that the Interim champion, Robert Whittaker would indeed defend his title before challenging for GSP’s anyway. But now everything is set. Ariel Helwani broke the news that former UFC and Strikeforce Middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold would be the next man to challenge for a UFC Middleweight title.