Max Rohskopf Speaks Out About Corner Controversy, Defends Coach
Max Rohskopf has spoken in-depth for the first time since the controversy that preceded his defeat to Austin Hubbard.
Rohskopf stepped in on five days’ notice to face Hubbard at UFC Vegas 3. Despite a promising start, the formerly unbeaten lightweight no longer wanted to continue and asked his coach Robert Drysdale to call the fight following the second round.
In the end, he had to ask nine times as Drysdale repeatedly tried to change his mind and was even ready to let him go back and compete in the third. In the end, the referee called a halt to the fight when Rohskopf didn’t get off his stool and said he no longer wanted to fight.
Rohskopf: Coach Did The Right Thing
Drysdale has since received criticism from many in the combat sports world, especially as he defended his decision soon after.
Rohskopf has also come to his defense as he revealed he was very close to changing his mind and going back in the fight.
“If the commission wasn’t there, he would’ve got me back I think,” Rohskopf told MMA Fighting. “I would’ve went out there and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. The man f*ckin gave me a place to live when I needed somewhere to live, so I didn’t have to live in my f**kin’ car.
“I actually didn’t want anything to do with MMA until I knocked on his door and was like, ‘Hey, man. I need help and I want you to coach me.’ He’s done nothing but be there for me and do everything he can for me. So for people to come out and say that he was wrong in that situation, there’s literally no debate or discussion about it. At the end of the day, I’m the one paying him and that’s what I wanted him to do. That’s what I expected him to do and if I was cornering someone else, that’s what I would do.
“There’s really no discussion about it. Rob did the right thing and he’s always done right by me.”
Rohskopf has no regrets about taking the fight on short notice either and even feels Hubbard isn’t getting the credit he deserves for his performance.
And while his hype may have been wiped completely, Rohskopf still feels he will get another chance with the UFC. But if not, that doesn’t seem like it will bother him either.
“Yeah, I think I’d be okay with that, too,” he added.
What do you make of Rohskopf defending his coach?
