Luke Rockhold Plans To Dominate & Finish Lyoto Machida
A crucial middleweight showdown is set to go down exactly one month from yesterday when former light heavyweight champion and No. 2 ranked middleweight Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida meets the surging No. 4-ranked Luke Rockhold at UFC on FOX 15 on April 18, 2015. Despite going up against the ultra-experienced and very dangerous Machida, Rockhold is actually quite confident heading into the bout.
Recently calling himself the best fighter in the world, Rockhold actually believes he can not only beat Machida, but finish “The Dragon” as well. Speaking with The Fight Corner, Rockhold noted that he is well aware of the threats Machida poses, but if he performs to his ability, he expects the finish:
“I think I can finish Machida, and I think I can perform, and I look to be solid,” Rockhold recently stated.
“Given [that] Machida is very quick, he’s elusive, he poses a lot of threats. I mean, I’m not going to say it’ll be a walk in the park. I know I can go out there and make it relatively easy if I go out there and fight the way I know I can. Like I said, it is Machida. I’ve just got to pursue him with caution and do what I plan on doing.”
These are some bold words from the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product, as Machida has only been finished two times in his career. Rockhold didn’t necessarily reveal his strategy, but he did that say he is planning on being exciting and putting on a great show for the fans:
“I’ve got a lot of cool stuff, a lot of fun stuff,” he promised. “I’m always going to look to be exciting and I think I can bring up a different avenue of threats that he hasn’t really experienced yet. I’m going to go out there and try to perform. What can I say? Things don’t always go as planned, but if things go the way my head thinks they’re going to go, I’m going to go out there and dominate.”
With many hungry middleweight contenders, this could be deemed a title eliminator bout. However, No. 1-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza could earn a shot at the belt if he were to win his next bout as well. In Rockhold’s mind, if he performs well against Machida, there’s no way he could be denied a shot at gold:
“I believe if I go out there and perform and do my job, I don’t believe there’s anything really left on the table,” he concluded.
“I’m going to take it as it comes, but Lyoto’s obviously proved himself as a champion and did well for himself in his title fight versus Weidman. I go out there and perform, potentially finish him, I don’t see how they can deny me.”
Can Rockhold finish Machida, and if he does, does he deserve a title shot?
