Luke Rockhold made his big return to the UFC at UFC Fight Night Pittsburgh when he finished former WSOF middleweight champion David Branch in the second round. Rockhold wanted to make a statement to the rest of the division and remind them that he’s still very much a top player in the sport.
Following the fight, Rockhold took to the mic and went right after former UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre and put him on full blast for jumping the line and getting a shot at Michael Bisping’s middleweight crown at UFC 217. Rockhold later talked to MMAjunkie and explained what he targeted GSP during his post fight interview.
“I’m not calling ‘GSP’ out wrong. Don’t get it wrong; get it straight, I’m telling ‘GSP’ to get the (expletive) out of his irrelevant fight. I don’t think he has any chance. I really don’t. I’m just telling you the straight truth. ‘GSP’ is going to get crushed. His game plan will not work against Bisping. As much as I don’t like (Michael Bisping), the other guy, he’s going to lose. The takedowns, Bisping is going to scramble. He’s going to get up. The size is going to wear on him. He’s going to outbox him, and he’s probably going to put him away in the later rounds. That’s the fight. It’s going to happen. I’ll bet the house on it. I’ll even (expletive) bet on it. GSP if he wins, somehow, some way, because anything can happen in the sport maybe, but he ain’t going to (expletive) fight any of us,” Rockhold said. “There’s no way he fights any of us. That’s the stupidest thing about this fight.”
Rockhold was also a guest on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” and he wasn’t done airing his grievances, saying that he’s not really happy with what the UFC’s new owners, WME-IMG, been doing when it comes to booking fights.
“He doesn’t deserve it,” Rockhold said of Bisping. “GSP, he’s overstepping his boundaries. He’s jumping into a world that he’s not ready for. I mean, even if he were to win this fight, he’s unprepared to fight any of us. That’s not gonna happen. It just doesn’t make any sense. And it’s annoying. It’s what we all worked for, is to get to that title. To have that thing held hostage is frustrating. The direction this company is going, just feeding the people this bullshit. I fight to get the title, I fight to be the best. There’s two of them out there and I’m trying to hunt one down. So, obviously Bisping is my first priority. If not, Whittaker is there.”
