Issue 138

February 2016

Luke Rockhold has finally earned his place on the 185lb throne, but he’s not done yet. In an exclusive interview, he tells Fighters Only what he’s got planned for 2016.

Luke Rockhold was right. For the past five years he’s told the world he was the best 185lb mixed martial artist on the planet, and December’s fourth-round TKO destruction of Chris Weidman at UFC 194 proved he was spitting the truth all the long.

Hail to the king

The manner in which the seemingly unstoppable ‘All American’ was battered into defeat –inside the same MGM Grand Garden Arena where he made his name by disposing of Anderson Silva twice – heralded a new dawn for the weight class. The reign of Luke Rockhold has begun.

And the 31-year-old southpaw, who was on antibiotics for a training camp infection heading into the fight, insists there’s much more to come from him in 2016. Middleweight division, form an orderly cue behind the champ please, because now Rockhold is on top he’s preparing for a long and fruitful championship campaign.

Back when he was living in AKA coach Bob Cook’s garage, without money for gas or any savings in the bank, it would have been easy to doubt Rockhold’s belief that he was the world’s leading middleweight. After all, despite an impressive 7-1 run in his career to that point, which had got him some attention as one to watch, his biggest scalp was that of Jesse Taylor, the infamous TUF 7 washout.

However, fast forward five thrilling years and the Californian with rapid-fire hands and feet, irrepressible ground game and movie star looks has finally conquered the world. He’s been calling for his shot for a long time. And when he got it, the fact he never let it pass him by is testament to his attitude and commitment.

His road to the UFC championship hasn’t been straightforward. He believes he’s had to fight for everything he’s achieved, not least inside the Octagon. But throughout his trials and tribulations he’s never once wavered on the belief that, given the opportunity, he would prove he’s the true number one.

“I always knew I was the best middleweight in the world, I just had to fight for the chance to prove it, perhaps a little more than I imaged,” he says. “But now I’m here, the UFC champion, I intend to enjoy it and make the most of it.”

Finishing the job

Rockhold has been a world champion before. He owned the Strikeforce belt before the organization was bought by the UFC in 2011. Yet unlike Ronda Rousey – who was handed the UFC belt – Rockhold had to prove his worth in the Octagon, and losing his debut to Vitor Belfort in Brazil set him back.

“When I beat Jacare (Souza) to become Strikeforce champion my life changed somewhat. I didn’t have to live at my manager’s house or in the gym anymore. I went through a lot trying to make it. I lived in the gym. I lived in Bob Cook’s garage. I was all over the place. I was struggling and sacrificing to make it. There was a lot that went into that.

“I wanted to be the best fighter in the world and I was calling for UFC crossover fights for the majority of the time I was champion. I wanted big names, I wanted the guys from the UFC. I was calling those guys out. Of course, as a kid the UFC was the UFC – it was the first. It’s still the strongest now. This is the major league. It’s where you’ve got to be in order to be the best fighter in the world. That’s what I want to be.

“But I didn’t really get a lot of respect as Strikeforce champion. I was disrespected having to fight Vitor in Brazil, on my debut. He was on steroids, basically (Belfort was cleared for testosterone replacement therapy at the time). I had to go down there and fight him and it p**sed me off.”

Yet, ironically, Rockhold now admits the defeat put him on track for championship success. He adds: “That loss to Vitor took a lot of weight off my shoulders. It just made me relax. I don’t know what it was, but after that I thought, ‘Just go out there and fight. Don’t worry about winning or losing, just enjoy it.’ 

“Whenever I fight my fight I know I’m going to come out on top. I know I’m the best in the world. I think that’s when you reach those out-of-body experiences, those higher levels of competing. You just go out there and enjoy the process and do what you love to do.”

That was certainly evident against Weidman, because while the former champion enjoyed a strong start to the contest, once he made a mistake – throwing a spinning wheel kick – Rockhold capitalized and bludgeoned Weidman for the remainder of the third round, when referee Herb Dean came very close to finishing the fight.

“I thought it was over,” Rockhold recalls. “I was thinking he would stop at any moment. But then I don’t blame him for allowing Chris to go out on his shield either. That’s what I would have wanted had it been me. Luckily, I was able to suck it up and had enough left to finish the job in the next round.”

Overcoming obstacles

And suck it up he did, in more ways than one. Rockhold said his preparation was made more difficult because he was midway through a course of antibiotics to treat an infection he picked up during camp: “Before the fight even started, in fact, a few days before at the open workouts I felt just so tired. I was exhausted kicking pads.

“I had cellulitis, which is similar to a staph infection. I was on antibiotics right up to and after the fight. It definitely impacted my performance, I know that. But I was never going to pull out and lose my chance of winning the title. I’d worked too hard to get to that point, so I just pushed through it.”

He adjusted. A trait Rockhold believes is what makes a fighter and a champion. He says: “Fighters that can adjust become the best fighters in the world. Adjustment is everything. You have to be relaxed enough and conscious enough to do it. You can’t be scared. 

“You have to be in the moment. That’s huge for a fighter. You have to be able to listen to your coaches, see what’s going on and adjust your game plan accordingly. My team were behind me 100% and with that, my family, I can achieve anything.”

Against Weidman, Rockhold’s striking game, and his kicking in particular, was on another level. At UFC 194 he kicked the fight out of the New Jersey native before the TKO finally arrived, and the new champion is quick to pay tribute to the men who took a self-confessed ‘keen scrappy grappler’ and turned him into a well-rounded world champion.

“Until I arrived in San Jose I had no coaching in striking. It was basically me with a heavy bag and a speedball in the garage at home all through high school. Coming to AKA at 22, that was the first time I’d had any professional coaching in the striking department. 

“So I have all the guys in my corner, my family, to thank for all of my successes. We win and lose together.”

Focus on the future

Rockhold’s dethroning of Weidman and capture of the undisputed middleweight championship signaled the realization of a lifelong dream. But his goals aren’t yet fully realized. Not by a long shot. Hailing from a gym of champions, there’s a lot more work left to do in 2016 and beyond before the new 185lb king can feel satisfied. 

And that bucket list of MMA achievements doesn’t end after he’s claimed the scalps of a long line of contenders either. In fact, it’s not confined to the weight class he currently occupies. Although he might play down their extent, Rockhold’s ambitions are grand, and if realized, will make him go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time.

“My goals have always been straightforward and simple: let’s get the middleweight title and hold on to that for a long time. Then maybe we can move up. If DC (Daniel Cormier) decides he’s had enough beating on the guys at 205lb, then I’ll look at that switch. I’d never shut the door to that.

“But for now our team goals are simple: get Cain his heavyweight belt back, and then kick back and enjoy the fact we have three world title belts at AKA.” Perhaps this time we should all listen and believe what Luke Rockhold is saying.

Who’s next? Revenge against ‘cheater’ Belfort

While a rematch with Chris Weidman is a strong possibility for Luke Rockhold, it’s actually another former foe he’d most like to mix it with in 2016: Vitor Belfort. The champion lost his UFC debut to the Brazilian in 2013 while he was using TRT, which is now banned under the UFC’s USADA-backed doping program.

“Everyone knows it’s Vitor Belfort who I want to face most of all. I want my rematch,” Rockhold says. “I know I can write a different ending to that story. To do it in the US would be nice, too. I came to him now it’s time for him to come to me.”

Cali kid: Product of his environment

Luke Rockhold may not come from a dilapidated spit-and-sawdust old fight gym in some bullet-riddled inner-city neighborhood. Yet the new, undisputed middleweight champion insists he’s most definitely a product of his SoCal environment.

Living and training in the backdrop of the sun-bleached California coastline, the champ calls Santa Cruz home, while he takes care of business over at AKA in San Jose. His location gives him the best his home state has to offer, he says. 

“The California lifestyle, with the beach and the surf and the mountain trails, it refreshes me to get back in the gym and work all week,” he says. “I play a round of golf when I can and I also go to the beach and have a little me time. 

“The gym is a rough place to be. I love training, I love my job, but it’s tough being locked up all the time when you’re sore and beat up. A little surf or hiking at the weekends is what replenishes me most.”

Path to success: Discipline is paramount

“Discipline is huge in life. If you don’t have that, you don’t succeed,” Rockhold says. “Look at how our culture is just dipping and dipping. It’s sad where we’re going. People have no discipline and all the kids are just falling off. 

“California is the lowest in academics right now. We’ve got the dumbest f**king kids in the country. We’re behind everybody. Without discipline, it’s hard to prosper in life.”

He discusses his own upbringing: “I wasn’t beaten but I definitely got some good spanks. My dad was a big man and he put some fear into us. He was so big that you feared him so much. He wouldn’t really bring out the belt or crack us too hard, but he wouldn’t hold back with his hand.

“It’s unfashionable now, but I think it’s complete bulls**t. That’s what’s wrong with the kids these days. There’s no discipline. People can’t touch their kids anymore. They have to beg them to take a bath. The two parents have to play good and evil and persuade their kids to do stuff because they’re so scared.

“There’s a certain discipline you have to do with your kids and those spankings were good for me. They put some fear in me and they made me respect them. It made me do what I needed to do. When you’re too soft on your kids, they don’t learn how to be disciplined in life.”