Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold doesn’t seem to have been pacified by the news that Yoel Romero is back on deck for the division’s next title shot. In fact, he’s angry as ever and spitting fire in the direction of UFC President Dana White.
Last week, Rockhold appeared on the MMA Hour and called for the division’s tops stars to stand up to the UFC, who appeared to have the 185lb weight class in a log jam by booking a title fight between champ Michael Bisping and returning star Georges St. Pierre. With GSP’s announcement that he would not be ready until after October, however, plans have changed.
Despite that, White took some time out to reply to Rockhold, telling Fox Sports that “there’s a lot of guys talking about ‘deserve’ — nobody deserves anything. You’ve got to earn it here. You’ve got Rockhold screaming right now ‘I deserve this’. You just got knocked out in the first round. You’ve got to come back and earn it.”
That didn’t sit well with Rockhold, who took to Twitter to respond.
@danawhite I never said I deserved a title shot. I said we (middleweights) deserve clarity. We deserve something to fight for.
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 16, 2017
@danawhite "You have to earn your way in this company"? Tell me how did GSP earn a middleweight title shot? Think before you run your mouth
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 16, 2017
Rockhold clearly has a point. While it might not be wise to tell your boss to “think before you run your mouth,” it’s clear that St. Pierre was being allowed to skip the line. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except that the UFC also allowed Dan Henderson to skip the line last year for a fight with Michael Bisping. To some, it seemed like Bisping would never fight the number one contender.
Predictably, White responded to Rockhold’s comments, also on Twitter:
@LukeRockhold pic.twitter.com/3buw7twqEv
— Dana White (@danawhite) May 16, 2017
Said White (to Rockhold), “I usually never respond but GSP never lost his title. Bisping, GSP, and the fans wanted it. Stick to fighting and modeling and leave the matchmaking to us.”
The idea that the “fans” wanted it seems to be based more on the idea that big names sell better with casual fans, of course. Few diehard MMA fans seemed thrilled about waiting months for the former welterweight champ to be ready for the Bisping fight. Should Bisping get past Yoel Romero, there’s still a chance the fight could happen, which might be the best for all parties involved. Except Luke Rockhold, who still doesn’t have a fight lined up.
