Costa Philippou Doesn’t Fight For Titles Or Fame, Only Money

UFC middleweight contender Costa Philippou saw the momentum of a five-fight win streak disappear when he dropped a decision to Francis Carmont at UFC 165 last September. In a sport where you’re only as good as your last fight, there were whispers that Philippou is simply too one-dimensional to contend with the best fighters the UFC has to offer.

That remains to be seen, but we won’t have to wait too long to find out. This evening Philippou has a huge chance to prove those theories either right or wrong. Heading into his UFC Fight Night 35 main event against Luke Rockhold, the No. 10-ranked Cypriot striker isn’t sweating the outcome, whatever it may be. For him, fighting isn’t about accolades or fame. He told ESPN.com that he simply fights for money, using it as a means to move onto the next phase of his life:

“I don’t care about the fame or being called a champion. It’s just a means to an end right now. Get a little money to move on to the next step of my life. Fighting is not my life. It’s something I’m good at and it’s what I do right now.”

That’s an interesting point of view from Philippou, who definitely strays from the sentiment held by most fighters in the UFC. Philippou recently left Team Serra-Longo, where he trained with UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, for a new home down the road at Bellmore Kickboxing Academy.

He insists that there were no hard feelings motivating his departure, maintaining that he will never fight Weidman.  And despite not being motivated by fighting for the belt, he knows what it takes to be champ from his time spent alongside “The All-American.” Philippou believes he has what it takes to earn the title that he couldn’t care less about:

“I trained with Chris, so now I kind of know what it takes to be at the top. It was an unknown with Anderson Silva because everybody thought it was impossible for him to lose. Then Chris went and did it twice. I’ve been in the cage with Chris. It proved to me it’s not impossible [to win a UFC title]. It can happen. If Chris did it, maybe I can do it.”

Philippou is headed for the toughest test of his career tonight in Georgia, as former Strikeforce middleweight champ Rockhold will be more than eager to get rid of the bad taste left in his mouth by a Vitor Belfort spinning head kick.

There’s not much doubt that the AKA-trained Rockhold will be looking to take this fight to the ground, an area where Philippou is perceived as weak. Rockhold is an excellent kickboxer as well, but it’s unlikely that he’ll look to stand and trade with a former professional boxer like Philippou.

The stage is set for Philippou to truly announce his presence in the ultra-tough UFC 185-pound landscape. But with his mind focused on making money rather than climbing up the rankings, is Philippou focused enough to take out a dangerous and motivated fighter like Rockhold?