Where Does Luke Rockhold Fit In The Middleweight Title Picture After UFC 172?
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold returned to action this past Saturday, as he dominated ‘The Barbarian’ Tim Boetsch and picked up the first round submission win. Following the victory at UFC 172, Rockhold called out ‘The Phenom’ Vitor Belfort, stating he wanted to avenge his first round knockout loss to the Brazilian KO artist.
He also dropped Michael Bisping’s name in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, as the two have a long-standing beef, but Rockhold’s team mate Daniel Cormier sees things differently. Speaking during the Fox Sports 1 post fight show, Cormier said:
‘He’s got to let the Belfort and Bisping thing go and move on. He’s got to go and fight for the title.’
The middleweight championship is set to be contested at UFC 175, where the champion Chris Weidman will put the belt on the line against the resurging Lyoto Machida. ‘The Dragon’ is looking like a new fighter in his new division, and stepped in as replacement for original title challenger Vitor Belfort.
‘The Phenom’ had to step down after TRT was banned within the promotion, and his return date is yet to be revealed. One match up that may suit Rockhold at this stage is a rematch with Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ de Souza; the two fought back in the Strikeforce days and Rockhold took the title from Souza in Ohio. Souza currently sits one place above Rockhold in the rankings and the loss that night in 2011 is Souza’s only L in the last six years.
With Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort out for the moment, the middleweight title picture is a four horse race comprising of Weidman, Machida, Souza and Rockhold. Tim Kennedy is in the mix after his win over Michael Bisping, but would be very lucky to get a shot off the back of that win. What do you think about the state of the title picture at 185 pounds right now?
