MMA news: Luke Rockhold slams Sean Strickland following UFC 312 defeat
Luke Rockhold did not hold back when discussing Sean Strickland’s performance against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312.
Sports News Blitz writer Niall Togher reports that Rockhold accused Strickland of quitting after suffering a broken nose in the fight.
Rockhold rips Strickland’s mentality
Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold blasted Sean Strickland after his second defeat to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312.
In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Rockhold was critical of Strickland’s response to breaking his nose during his fight.
He stated that Strickland “basically quit” during the fight after sustaining the injury.
“We all watched the fight, and we all heard the guy (Strickland) talk about ‘to the death, Dutchman, to the death!” Rockhold said.
“This motherf***er talks such a big game and then he b****es out and basically quits in a fight after he breaks his nose.
“I mean what are you worried about?
“You have a title fight, a world title is on the line, that’s all you want, that’s all you’ve dreamed of and you’re more worried about fixing your f*cking nose than winning and biting down on your mouthpiece and doing what you’ve got to do?
“It shows your true character, that’s what the cage is all about.”
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A long-standing feud
The former middleweight champion and Strickland initially trained together during the Covid-19 pandemic where Rockhold described Strickland as “really annoying” and that’s where the animosity began.
“It was in the middle of Covid. I was a little hungover and my nose was broken at the time and I was so annoyed with this motherf***er just running his mouth and acting the way he did.
“I went to the bathroom and got a piece of paper towel, put it in my mouth and stepped in there and put my gloves on just to spar the kid because I was so f***ing annoyed,” Rockhold said.
When asked what Strickland did to initially annoy Rockhold, he said:
“He just runs his mouth, like you hear him in the press conference he has a very deep insecurity and wherever he is he always tries to act a fool.
“I’ve never seen the kid before and he walked in like he was just the f*cking man.
“He just disrespects everybody he can, he hurt one of the guys and he kept trying to knock him out.
“He comes on our turf asking for sparring and he was trying to knock this kid out and I was just really sick of it.”
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Future in the Global Fight League
When it comes to Rockhold’s fighting future, he is one of many legends in MMA who has been signed to the new Global Fight League (GFL) promotion.
The 40-year-old said he would like to rematch the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman for his first fight in the promotion.
The pair initially fought back at UFC 194 where Rockhold defeated Weidman to win the title.
However, their rematch at UFC 199 never came to fruition when Weidman pulled out through injury.
“I want that fight man. Weidman and me makes the most sense I think and it’s fun.
“There are rumours of a fight coming to LA and I’m healthy and I’m training and back to it, so Weidman, I’d love to close that door as Dricus would say.
“I think I’ve already closed it but I’m going to secure that one,” Rockhold said
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