Luke Rockhold Has Proved Himself, Eyes Bout With Anderson Silva
It’s now been just under two months since former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold took out Chris Weidman via fourth round stoppage at December 12, 2015’s UFC 194 to become the undisputed UFC champion, but he’s still without an opponent for his first defense.
All signs have been pointing towards a potential rematch with Weidman as of late, or perhaps a showdown with the winner of May’s Ronaldo Souza vs. Vitor Belfort bout would make sense.
While those are logical options, the American Kickboxing Academy product also has another name in mind, and a rather large one: legendary former 185-pound king Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Rockhold recently claimed that it’s a fight he’s always been interested in, and now that he’s at the top of the mountain, he feels as if it’s a perfect time to make it happen:
“I’m very interested in that fight. That’s a fight I’ve wanted for a very long time,” Rockhold told FOX Sports about the possibility of facing Silva. “We were both reigning champions in the top two organizations. I had my sights set on it, they didn’t give it to me, they didn’t think I had earned or was worthy of it. I’ve proven myself now.
“”Now we’ve got Anderson Silva asking for that fight. That’s what I’m all about.”
After suffering back to back losses and a broken leg to Weidman in 2013, “The Spider” returned in January 2015 to take on Nick Diaz, a bout he would come out victorious in after scoring a unanimous decision victory.
The decision was later changed, however, when Silva tested positive for multiple performance-enhancing-drugs, leading the Nevada State Athletic Commission to hand him a one year suspension.
Now free to compete, Silva is slated to take on long-time divisional mainstay Michael Bisping later this month at UFC Fight Night 84. With no clear contender in line, the winner of this bout could very well find himself gearing up for a shot at gold.
With that being said, Rockhold is confident nonetheless. No matter who the opponent is, the champion aims to dominate and force his opposition to fear him:
“These guys think they have a chance and I’m going to go out there a better fighter every time and make them not want that opportunity,” Rockhold said. “That’s what I want every time I go out there, I want guys to not even think about getting in there with me.
“I didn’t have my best performance last time so next time out, I’m going to make people fear me.”
Who would you like to see Rockhold take on next?
