Luke Rockhold: I want to fight a top contender from the UFC
Posted on January 8, 2012, 08:30 AM by Anton GurevichLuke Rockhold followed the footsteps of Gilbert Melendez, calling out the current top contenders in the UFC to prove their worth in Strikeforce. Following the victory over Keith Jardine at last night's Strikeforce event in Las Vegas, Nevada, Rockhold improved his MMA record to 9-1, also solidifying his place as one of the Top 10 Middleweights on the planet.
Further Reading: Strikeforce Results: Luke Rockhold TKO's Keith Jardine
Comments
He isn't in the UFC yet and he hasn't fought Munoz?
His lone loss is against Tony Rubalcava at Melee on the Mountain.
Maybe the loser of Munoz or Sonnen would be a great match-up but losing either one would lose a still relevant contender in the ufc divisions. I think Okami would make the most sense, or maybe even Palhares to test him on the ground.
I thought he looked "Okay" against Jardine but if he was top 5 UFC I think it would have been a more impressive win. He has some work to do.
I agree, jardine wasn't a challange for him really because there were so many factors against jardine. I would give him to okami and see how he does then keep him if he wins or does well or put him back in strikeforce if he doesn't.
lol @ number1 contender, beating jardine isnt that much of a accomplishment..
beating jacare and now destroying jardine... this kid could do damage in the ufc. they should merge the two MW classes entirely
He is not top 5 yet. He looked good against Jardine, but Jardine isn't top 20 at MW.
Bring Alan Belcher over. IMO the most underrated MW. I think he is a very hard fight for Rockhold. Black Belt BJJ and a great MuayThai striker.
Rockhold vs Kennedy is a great fight. Kennedy is really underrated. He is 6-1 over his last 7 fights.
I don't know why he wants UFC-fighters. Kennedy is a legit contender. If he beats him, he has IMO cleaned out the division.
But he is not in the same position Gil Melendez is in.
Good guy an is getting better as a fighter constantly, especially since he is coming out of AKA he will just continue to develop at a fast speed.
He needs to realise and so does the rest of Strikeforce and the media, the UFC will NOT bring any fighters over.
Everytime a SF champion asks for better competition in my opinion it just lowers his future stock. If he continues to defend against SF contenders it will make his defenses a lot less impressive if he is fighting against fighters that he doesn't feel are that good, especially if the champ keeps telling everyone that.
I agree. I dont know why these Strikeforce guys are acting like they're in the same league as the UFC. Bringing UFC guys down to Strikeforce would be like Having Albert Pujols play in a Triple-A game every once in a while to sell tickets.
Maybe they're making some of the top Strikeforce guys say that in an attmept to promote the product and give it credibility.
A year ago at this point in time, it would have been laughable to ask DW to bring over a top contender to challenge a SF champion.
But since the UFC bought StrikeForce,I don't think it as a bad idea; seeing as we could use this as a gauge to measure the talent of a SF champion.
Tim Kennedy is next in line for a shot at that belt though. Finish your business Rockhold, and then ask for stiffer competition.Good luck getting past a beast that is Kennedy too.
Funny how everyone in SF is calling out UFC fighters, and "wants a top contender" in the UFC all of a sudden. Wonder why.
I guess when Jones beats everyone, they'll let him call out all the guys from Strikeforce. 8P