Luke Rockhold suggests there are “multiple people in the top 10 making excuses” not to fight him

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold (16-5 MMA) is having trouble booking an opponent for his return to the Octagon.

Rockhold, who has not competed since suffering a knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz in July of 2019, announced his intentions of making a UFC comeback early last fall.

However, over the last nine months nothing has been announced by the promotion. According to Luke Rockhold, the holdup is due to the fact that no one in the top 10 of the UFC middleweight division is willing to throw down.

“It’s time to smash some heads,” Rockhold said on the Real Quick With Mike Swick podcast (via MMAMania). “My body feels good, I’m walking around at 205 pounds. Everything is pretty smooth, I just need to find some sucker to take the fight … [Middleweight], that’s where I’m at. I’m walking at 205 pounds, so for me that’s where I feel good. That’s where I feel light, where I feel comfortable, and that’s where I’ve done my damage, where I won my world titles. And I plan on doing it again.”

Image via @lukerockhold on Instagram

Luke Rockhold continued:

“It’s really about fighting someone who’s going to fight,” he said. “I need to find a top 10 guy who’s willing to sack up and ready to fight. There’s 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? My last fight [at middleweight] was against Yoel Romero, who missed weight for a world title in Perth two years ago. So I’ve left the rankings but I’ve not really left the rankings. I’m still there just as much as I want to be. And everyone knows who I am and what I can do and I think everyone is just making excuses for why they won’t fight me right now.”

Luke Rockhold is hoping the UFC find him a credible and exciting opponent for his Octagon return.

“We’ve been hunting down the list looking for something credible, something fun, something exciting. 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.”

Who would you like to see former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold matched up against for his return to the UFC? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!