Luke Rockhold not hung up on Michael Bisping, wants to fight Anderson Silva next

[La Paix]

Luke Rockhold has been relatively quite since his defeat at the hands of Michael Bisping at UFC 199. After the fight, Rockhold made it known that he wanted an immediate rematch but that talk was stymied leaving Rockhold to wait along with the rest of the division for Bisping's next opponent to be announced. Ultimately, that honor went to Dan Henderson leaving many in the division unhappy.

Rockhold isn't among them though. UnlikeChris Weidman (who tweeted about the"joke of a system")or Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (who tweeted that the UFC should honor Henderson with a Hall of Fame induction instead of a title fight), Rockhold isn't angry about the decision. In an interview with ESPN's Five Rounds podcast with Brett Okamoto, Rockhold spoke about the upcoming title fight and what he sees next for himself.

Morning Report: Luke Rockhold not hung up on Michael Bisping, wants to fight Anderson Silva next

 

[Kingtony87]

Lol get beat call out aging fighter..... Better be careful the last one of those be fought ninja kicked his head off.

 

[Tiiimmmaaayyy]

A few years ago it would have been hard to imagine people calling out Andy for the easy fight. Damn you father time!

 

[Jdog93]

Its hard to imagine all these fighters trying to make a name for them selves fighting a old legend like Silva. But that's just how the fight game is.

 

[benjo0101]

Wouldnt the Belfort fight make sense? I know Belfort is now booked but it would be the perfect time for that wouldnt it?

 

[tang]

Dayam, Anderson is so old and done any one calling him out at this point is just bullying and wants money.

Thought he'd want to fight bisping or belfort.. Or even wideman

 

[La Paix]

Not sure why all the negative criticism here. Here's what MW looks like at the moment.

He's not going to rematch Mikey after being finished

His last win was over Weidman who he pounded out so no need to see it again right now

Jacare would be good but he already has a win over him

Vitor would be great but is booked

Silva's is who he wants now

The rest are high risk with little reward for the former champ imo.

The comments about him wanting money....isn't that why all these guys keep coming back? The days of budo and fight for honour are long gone it seems.

 

[DFW4L]

based stupid fight, Silva has not won a fight in 4 years, Luke is quite obviously the best MW fighter in the world...

and the people voting AS the #5 MW in the world should be commited

 

[BJJMMA]

So Anderson is now likely to go 0-5-1NC since 2012. Please Spider take it to the house.

 

[DFW4L]

The days of budo and fight for honour are long gone it seems.

I am LMFAO at using the word 'budo' as a callback to the 'good old days' of MMA

 

[DFW4L]

So Anderson is now likely to go 0-5-1NC since 2012. Please Spider take it to the house.

really, those 'official' UFC rankings are the end all be all reason the fighters need to organize, if I was Whitaker (or any of the 6-12 ranked guys), I would be outraged

 

[MMAHAWK]

really, those 'official' UFC rankings are the end all be all reason the fighters need to organize, if I was Whitaker (or any of the 6-12 ranked guys), I would be outraged

How far do you drop if you lose to guys ranked in front of you. Yes Bisping was lower ranked but is now the champ and a loss to the LHW champion on 2 days notice shouldn't lower you to much either.

 

[DFW4L]

How far do you drop if you lose to guys ranked in front of you. Yes Bisping was lower ranked but is now the champ and a loss to the LHW champion on 2 days notice shouldn't lower you to much either.

How are you still ranked in a division after not winning a fight in it for 4 years?

I don't think AS should drop because he lost to DC, he should not even be in contention to be on the list....there has to be some minimum standard to be 'top 10', Something like at least one division win in the past 2 years, something like that...

 

[warriorx559]

Give him Romero. Done.

 

[Pitbull9]

A few years ago it would have been hard to imagine people calling out Andy for the easy fight. Damn you father time!

This is a mistake. Silva is still about 85-90 percent as dangerous as he always was imo. Andys style could be a problem for Luke unless he works those takedowns.

 

[MMAHAWK]

How are you still ranked in a division after not winning a fight in it for 4 years?

I don't think AS should drop because he lost to DC, he should not even be in contention to be on the list....there has to be some minimum standard to be 'top 10', Something like at least one division win in the past 2 years, something like that...

So smart fighters would never fight a higher ranked opponent? He has 3 losses at mw two to Weidman and one controversial loss to Bisping. How low would you rank him?

 

[DFW4L]

So smart fighters would never fight a higher ranked opponent?

what? I legit have no idea how that corresponds to falling off the top 10 if you don't win a division fight in several years

 

[MMAHAWK]

what? I legit have no idea how that corresponds to falling off the top 10 if you don't win a division fight in several years

So someone who wins 16 in a row then loses to the #1 contender twice and the #8 guy and current champ should be ranked behind a guy 2-2 in their last 4 fights? Or even a guy 5-0 against non ranked opponents. I hate defending Anderson but he is definitely still a top 10 middleweight based off of his record.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

This is a mistake. Silva is still about 85-90 percent as dangerous as he always was imo. Andys style could be a problem for Luke unless he works those takedowns.

Agreed, really think Silva is a bad matchup for Luke.

 

[Tiiimmmaaayyy]

This is a mistake. Silva is still about 85-90 percent as dangerous as he always was imo. Andys style could be a problem for Luke unless he works those takedowns.

He is very dangerous. Andy is always going to be dangerous because he has superior striking. However, he isn't as elusive as he once was, he's older, slower, and his chin has deteriorated. Luke will definitely take him down and punish him. He may be older and slower, but Luke is no dummy, he will not trade with him. I'm all for Silva, always will be. He's one of my all time favorites to watch, but I have to be realistic about his ability at 40. I just don't see him beating the younger, top of the heap guys anymore.

 

[BJJMMA]

what? I legit have no idea how that corresponds to falling off the top 10 if you don't win a division fight in several years

So someone who wins 16 in a row then loses to the #1 contender twice and the #8 guy and current champ should be ranked behind a guy 2-2 in their last 4 fights? Or even a guy 5-0 against non ranked opponents. I hate defending Anderson but he is definitely still a top 10 middleweight based off of his record.

Being honest I really don't know how to rank Anderson at this point. There are things he does that makes me think he is still legit and things he does that makes me think he is just another fight or two from being completely exposed as old and ready to retire. I know this, I don't think he is ready for Rockhold. Of course I didn't think Bisping was either.

 

[MMAHAWK]

Being honest I really don't know how to rank Anderson at this point. There are things he does that makes me think he is still legit and things he does that makes me think he is just another fight or two from being completely exposed as old and ready to retire. I know this, I don't think he is ready for Rockhold. Of course I didn't think Bisping was either.

I agree with your assessment. For me I can't drop someone out of the ranking for losing to guys ranked higher. Until he loses to a guy he should never lose to I think about 5-7 is correct.

 

[DFW4L]

I really don't know how to rank Anderson at this point. There are things he does that makes me think he is still legit and things he does that makes me think he is just another fight or two from being completely exposed

You should start with eliminating speculation about what he might or might not do in the future from your assessment of where he should be in the rankings.

 

[DFW4L]

So someone who wins 16 in a row then loses to the #1 contender twice and the #8 guy and current champ should be ranked behind a guy 2-2 in their last 4 fights?

I think a guy who has not won a fight in a division in 4 years should not meet minimum criteria be in contention to be ranked, what fights he won >x years ago and how good the guys he lost to are and what other guys are doing is totally irrelevant imo.

 

[BJJMMA]

I agree with your assessment. For me I can't drop someone out of the ranking for losing to guys ranked higher. Until he loses to a guy he should never lose to I think about 5-7 is correct.

I think a guy who has not won a fight in a division in 4 years should not meet minimum criteria be in contention to be ranked, what fights he won >x years ago and how good the guys he lost to are and what other guys are doing is totally irrelevant imo.

I guess I see both sides of this coin. I agree at some point he has to win and honestly it's not right having guys that haven't won in years or guys that haven't fought in years (Tim Kennedy) ranked ahead of guys actively striving to fight. At the same time I do still think Silva better than a lot of the guys below him. It doesn't help that I think this division has the most parody of any division in the UFC. 1-15 are more than capable of beating each other on any given night.