UFC Fight Night 35 Post-Fight Highlights And Interview: Rockhold Calls Out Belfort, Bisping
No. 6-ranked UFC middleweight contender Luke Rockhold returned to the win column in the main event of last night’s UFC Fight Night 35 from Duluth, Georgia, scoring a first round TKO over Costa Philippou with a brutal liver kick.
The “Knockout of the Night”-winning effort was sweet for Rockhold, who went a long way in silencing the critics that inevitably followed when he was knocked out by a Vitor Belfort spinning wheel kick in his Octagon debut at UFC on FX 8.
But Rockhold has the pressure of getting his first UFC win (and finish) out the way, and now he can move on to his next goal, which is being the best. He spoke up during his post-fight interview to state his intentions of fighting two highly ranked UFC middleweights:
“Felt great. You know, I’m here. I’m not here to be good, I’m here to be great, and you know, I want my rematch with Vitor and I would like it here in the States. And I’ll go through anybody I have to get that, especially Michael Bisping actually; that’d be nice.”
Both of those fights would be absolutely blockbuster for him; we’ll see if the UFC makes either fight happen in the near future. Bisping is awaiting the results of an eye exam and Belfort will be fighting Chris Weidman for the title reportedly this summer.
Rockhold went on to discuss the details of his fight-ending kicks and how he able to stop Philippou in his main area of strength, the standup:
“Yeah, I love that liver kick. It’s always there, you gotta set it up, go high, go low, and I got a lot of power in my kicks. As long as I don’t rush things, I’m a lot better fighter so you saw me tonight, I didn’t rush things, waited for my opportunities, caught him with that hook and then finished with the kicks.”
A big fight should await Rockhold, who proved those who thought he was overrated coming from Strikeforce by defeating No. 10 Philippou. He still has long road to climb to a title shot or even another shot at Belfort, but Rockhold definitely sent notice to the UFC middleweight division tonight.
Check out the highlights and Rockhold’s post-fight reaction courtesy of FOX Sports below:
