With Bisping Busy, Luke Rockhold Calls Out Anderson Silva

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has seen better years than 2016 so far.

Touted as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport after he brutally finished Chris Weidman in the co-main event of UFC 194, most picked him to do the same to Michael Bisping when ‘The Count’ was tabbed as a short-notice replacement for Weidman at UFC 199 when he was forced out of his rematch with Rockhold.

Indeed, Rockhold felt the same way, predicting a “one of a kind” finish over the British loudmouth. But things actually turned out the opposite, and Rockhold was shockingly knocked out by Bisping in the first round. The win sent the UFC middleweight division into a state of disarray, as all of the top-level contenders were passed over so Bisping could have his rematch with his bitter rival and No. 13-ranked Dan Henderson, reportedly in the main event of October’s UFC 204.

Speaking up to Brett Okamoto on ESPN’s Five Rounds podcast (via MMA Fighting), Rockhold declared he doesn’t necessarily hate the booking as much as many other middleweights do. In fact, he even understands why his good friend “Hendo” is getting one last shot at the only major MMA title that’s eluded him in his decorated career:

“Technically I don’t think it makes the most sense, of course. It’s Dan. Dan Hendo is a legend, one of the greatest ever and I think they’re just giving him his due respect and giving him a last shot at the one title he’s missed in the sport…I’m in a tough position. Dan is a very close friend of mine. Like I said, it’s not technically the decision to make but Dan has earned his stripes in this game…I don’t understand exactly where the reasoning is behind this match-up but I’m excited for Dan to go at it and try to take it and bring it home.”

Rockhold also called out for an immediate rematch with Bisping, as the two have split a pair of bouts with Rockhold submitting “The Count” in November 2014. But after losing by first-round knockout, he knows his shot at Bisping may never come due to how vulnerable “The Count” is to the rest of the elite competitors at 185 pounds:

“I would love an opportunity to right that and finish this. I don’t know if I will get that opportunity given that I know how vulnerable he is to the division, so I need to go make a statement with my next fight and that’s what I plan on doing…I’ll be ready for a last-minute replacement for this fight if Dan were to trip and stub his toe. There’s nothing I’d love more than to step in on short notice and fix this.”

As for who he’s looking to make a statement against in his next fight, Rockhold apparently has his gaze fixated on one man, and that’s former champion Anderson Silva, who just recently lost an uninspired decision to Rockhold’s AKA training partner Daniel Cormier at UFC 200:

“Other than that there’s a guy I’ve always wanted to fight and that’s Anderson Silva. Anderson Silva is still in the division, he’s still obviously relevant. He had the controversial loss to Bisping, and I had my loss to Bisping. And obviously fighting my teammate on short notice, I think he’s still very relevant and it’s a fight that makes a lot of sense and would be a fun one to do.

“Personally, looking at the division I think that makes the most sense. I’ve already fought Jacare. Weidman, of course a lot of people talking about that rematch but I don’t really see the sense in it at this point. I’m open to a lot of things but I really like the sound of that match-up now.”