Issue 131

August 2015

He’s had to earn respect and grind his way to the top, but now Luke Rockhold is ready to take the UFC middleweight championship.

There are so many elements to Luke Rockhold: the Santa Cruz surfing and skateboarding background, the modeling contracts, the physique of an action hero, his Hollywood film star looks. But forget all of that, says the clean-cut Californian. The man himself wants to be perceived, and remembered, as a fighter. Pure and simple.

“Fighting is my love, fighting is my passion. I’m not here to be a model. I don’t like taking pictures and posing. I don’t get the same satisfaction as I do when fighting. I love fighting, I love winning, I love competing,” says the six-foot-three 185lb’er with quiet, yet passionate engagement. 

“This is what I want to do for as long as I can do it. I’m here to be the champion, to be the best in the world, and all my energy is focused on this.”

The leading contender for Chris Weidman’s UFC 185lb title tells Fighters Only he’s also set his sights on winning the light heavyweight championship and then becoming a top 10 heavyweight. That’s some statement from a man who’s one of the rising stars of the UFC.

Rockhold also reveals strong views on the organization’s new random drug-testing policy and even rejoices in its inception. Moreover, as one of the select few MMA beneficiaries of an Adidas sponsorship, the 30-year-old reveals he has little issue with wearing Reebok kit when he fights inside the Octagon.

Warrior spirit

Up close, Rockhold has a strong self-belief and an instant likeability about him. His confidence has rocketed, bolstered by a thrilling, dominant victory over Lyoto Machida in April – more comprehensive than any the Brazilian had suffered before. Having met Rockhold several times now, what comes to the surface on each occasion is that he has an inner need to prove himself, and he’s doing it – over and over again. 

Victories over ‘Jacare’ Souza and Tim Kennedy in Strikeforce should have pointed critics to the veracity of Rockhold’s fighting intelligence, timing, temperament, and tenacity. But after his stunning triumph over ‘The Dragon’, the doubters have become believers. The skills he possesses are perfect for the top of the fight world’s food chain. 

“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,” explains the 14-2 middleweight who is next in line to challenge for UFC gold. “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.” That’s exactly why Rockhold is flying right now, powered by a desire to push himself to the limit. 

But when was the warrior spirit awakened in this native son of California, who might’ve chosen one of half a dozen less taxing routes to fulfillment? “My family is very athletic. I had two older brothers, one who was three years older than me. He’d always kind of pick on me a bit and his friends would pick on me. My natural instinct was to fight back. 

“Not only that, I’d instigate little situations and I’d want them to start something. I was always the most competitive little kid. You talk to anybody that knew me growing up and they’ll tell you I wanted to turn any little thing into a competition. It was always physical.”

So being the youngest, he could test himself. And he did. “I took my beatings and I was always a little tougher and wanted more. My dad played professional basketball and my brother surfed professionally for a long time. He still does. My other brother was a very talented volleyball and basketball player. He had a bunch of volleyball scholarships. It didn’t work out for him in the professional world. But we were all pushing each other and very competitive.

“As early as I can remember, I was playing handball on the courts. I’m very competitive but I also have the fight in me. We’d argue about a call and I was getting in fights and putting guys in the schoolyard into chokes and headlocks. I was never a bully-type kid. I never used to like the bullies – I’d fight those guys in kindergarten, in middle school and junior high. 

“I was getting in fights for as long as I can remember. I was always in some kind of scuffle while protecting my friends or putting them in their place. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in life – life hasn’t been easy. I’ve been through a lot.”

Fighting foundations

Rockhold started out in judo, aged five. By junior high school, it was wrestling. “I liked the satisfaction you got out of a single sport. It’s all on your shoulders. I got frustrated with team sports and coaches and whatnot. 

“I started to figure out who I was in junior high and I found out I liked wrestling and liked doing things on my own and not relying on other people. You can really put in every last bit of yourself. You get the rewards you deserve.

“Once I got into wrestling, that was my sport. I started falling away from school sports. So it was skateboarding, surfing and then wrestling. I wrestled and in the off-season I’d surf and skate. Those were my goals at the time – professional skateboarder and surfer. Wrestling just kept my parents happy at the time. 

“But I was very competitive and wasn’t going to do something half-assed. So every time the wrestling season came around, I didn’t want to lose. I trained hard, I went to all the big training camps and soon I realized I liked that even more.”

It was when he discovered jiu-jitsu, however, that Rockhold really came into his own. “Jiu-jitsu was way more creative. You could use your body in so many different ways. It’s more to the point. You could finish someone and make them tap out rather than pin a guy on his back.

“I can’t tell you how many times I was frustrated with a guy getting cheap points against me in wrestling by exposing my back, when I could beat him in so many other ways. Finding jiu-jitsu was the perfect thing for me. That just escalated to fighting because I knew I already liked to fight.

“Once I found fighting, the guys that could do certain things to me in jiu-jitsu couldn’t get me there if I could punch or kick a little bit. I couldn’t imagine a better thing for me. That’s my passion. It’s what I love to do. Everything else is fun, but this is my bliss.”

California love

So it was Santa Cruz and San Jose that became home and office. Santa Cruz, Rockhold insists, will always be home; that’ll never change. “I love Santa Cruz. I have all my family there and it’s got everything you could want for a beach guy and an outdoorsman like myself. You’ve got the ocean, you’ve got the mountains, you’ve got the diversity. It’s a great community; it keeps you down to Earth. You don’t get too caught up in all the crazy stuff in the world. I like it. 

“It just also happens to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. And it’s only 45 minutes from my gym. I have the best gym in the world in San Jose, and the best place in the world in Santa Cruz. Side by side, I couldn’t have a better situation.”

This is not just a paean to ‘Home Sweet Home’. Rockhold believes Santa Cruz holds an X factor, a synergy between nature and punishing sessions inside the four walls of a gym that contains a gaggle of the most powerful fighters on the planet. 

He adds: “I love getting outdoors. I’m not a guy you can just lock in the gym and train all the time. Santa Cruz is a crucial part of my life and my training, somewhere I can get off on the weekends and wake up in the morning and see the ocean and maybe get a surf in.” 

Yet at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Rockhold embraces the grind of blue-collar fight work. “AKA was a pretty simple choice for me, being in Santa Cruz. I had some friends that trained at the gym over in San Jose and I’d seen some of the guys on TV in the UFC doing well. There was a little commotion about the gym… I bounced over there and trained with a couple of them – jiu-jitsu at first – and I did real good with a couple of guys. I thought, ‘These guys aren’t so tough.’

“I went back and once I got a taste of the full professional sparring, I was hooked. I knew this was what I was going to do. From the first moment I got in there and exchanged and mixed it up, I knew that I was going to make this work. 

“I had no formal teaching or coaching in striking. I’d kick and punch from watching Rocky videos and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. I grew up doing grappling, but this is a new challenge and I’ve really taken to it and I’m working hard. I’m proud of where I’ve come in the striking realm. I think I’m one of the best now and there’s still room to grow at all levels.”

Rockhold’s growth has been overseen by the mercurial coach Javier Mendez, who has had faith his charge was destined for greatness. “Javier is awesome. He’s a big part of where we’ve got to as a team,” Rockhold states. “Javier has had belief in me from the very moment I walked into the gym. He literally told me I could be a champion in this sport.”

Blood brothers

Getting beaten up on a daily basis by elite teammates is a true proving ground. And there are fewer tougher tests than UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier. As Rockhold knows only too well.

“It sucks. It truly does sometimes. But at the same time, I truly love it. These guys are my brothers, my blood, and we’ve been together for so long. Cain has been kicking my ass for the last eight years now. We’ve got into some heavy battles and he’s made me a better fighter, no doubt. I’d like to think I’ve helped him on his journey to the top. 

“‘DC’ has been with us for about five years now. We all complement each other very well and I can help them out with the jiu-jitsu and the striking aspect. I’m big enough to hang with them and they can throw me around and make me tougher and show me the wrestling side. We’ve all pushed each other to that next level and we continue to push each other. We’re like brothers, family, but we’re still out there hurting each other. 

“I’d do well with anybody in the world at any weight (above me). I’d rather move up to heavyweight sometimes. I think it would be easier. I’m not even joking. I could go out there and beat some heavyweights. A lot of them. I truly believe I could be a top 10 heavyweight.

“In the future I’d love to move up (to light heavyweight). Once DC clears out the division, I’ll move up. I’m the youngest of all of us in our team so I’ll take it as it comes. First things first though, I want to get that title. There would be no professional fight with DC. He’s my brother. I would never step into his realm until he was gone. I’m focused on what I’m doing right now and I’m excited for my team in general. I’m going to get the belt, DC’s now got the belt and Cain has owned it for some time already and will keep it for a long time. There are going to be three UFC world title belts in one gym.”

Respect is earned

Before becoming a UFC star, Rockhold built his career in Strikeforce. It did him an enormous service. “I’m in San Jose and (former Strikeforce CEO) Scott Coker is San Jose-based. He’s very tight and has known Javier Mendez for a long time. They grew up together and Bob Cook, our coach, is very close too. It was an obvious choice. They were scouting me from the moment I went there. Javier was talking highly of me before I even started fighting. 

“It was an easy choice. I had the inside scoop on what they were doing with NBC and that led to CBS and Showtime and all that. I knew there were big things coming and I liked the direction, so I jumped in with them. They brought me to the Playboy mansion, so I was like, ‘You brought me to the Playboy mansion, I’ll sign your contract.’ Strikeforce was awesome.”

When Rockhold won the promotion’s middleweight crown, defeating Jacare in September 2011, he felt he’d proved something as a young fighter. But at the time, he felt that it wasn’t recognized fully by the media, or indeed the UFC, when he crossed over. 

“I was pissed – real pissed about that. The Strikeforce title meant a lot to me. People didn’t give me enough credit when I beat Jacare. They kind of took it away from Jacare and didn’t think I was all that. I was kind of upset about that,” he admits.

“I don’t think I really got a lot of respect as the champion. People overlooked me and didn’t realize how tough Jacare was – and also Tim Kennedy. When we came into the UFC, they wrote us off. But look at us now and look at what we’re all able to do in the UFC. 

“I felt disrespected having to fight Vitor (Belfort) in Brazil, my debut. And he was on steroids, basically (Belfort was allowed to use testosterone replacement therapy at the time).

“It pissed me off. I went out there trying to right his wrongs and clean up the sport. That was obviously the most emotional fight I’ve been in. I think I earned my respect through my last couple of fights. Everyone’s following my team and believing in me now. I’m just happy with where I am now.”

The loss to Belfort, though, he believes, was a key moment. “Coming off the Vitor loss really made me analyze my training and my sparring, and made me work out when I was at my best. That’s when I realized how to relax and wait and create openings and not push it or be over-aggressive. That’s when I realized how to fight mentally.”

Back in the hunt

Put it all together, and 2015 could clearly be Rockhold’s year of stardom. He’s the right man, in the right place, at the right time. “I’m not here to be a second-tier champion. Now I’m here and I can prove myself – I’m on the verge of that right now. I had a hiccup with Vitor, got caught with some stupid stuff, but it bettered me and I believe this is my time. I wasn’t quite ready to be the best. Now I am. I know I’m ready now.

“Confidence is everything. If you don’t have confidence, you won’t do anything. If you’re not confident in golf, you won’t hit the ball cleanly. You’re going to shank it. If you have confidence, you’ll hit that ball exactly the way you want.

“It’s the same with punching and kicking and movement. You’ve just got to believe in it. I know I go out there and work as hard as everybody else. I leave nothing out. I just believe I’m better in all areas and that I’m a smarter fighter, I’m more athletic, I’m more determined, I’ve got more heart, I’ve got more will, I’ve got no quit in me. There’s nothing anybody can do to beat me.

“I believe I’m the best I’ve ever been and I don’t think I’ve reached my peak yet. I’m still growing athletically and technically. There’s a lot more to come. I’m constantly thinking of ways to better myself. I’m a student of the game. I learn something from everybody.

“I try to represent myself in a decent way. I’m a bit of a wild child, I like to enjoy myself. But I’m a good person, a genuine person. I’m not always politically correct, but I’m not going to do anything bad. I really believe this is what I was supposed to do. It’s who I am.” 

It’s been some journey already. But for Luke Rockhold his chance to be the UFC champion comes next.

PED-hostile, 420-friendly

There are two sides to Rockhold’s relationship with drugs. On the subject of performance enhancers, he speaks enthusiastically about the UFC’s new hard-hitting stance, introduced on July 1st. “I’m excited,” he says. “This is a long time coming. Finally, it really hit home with Dana (White, UFC president) when Anderson Silva got caught for steroids. 

“It’s a sad day in MMA when Anderson Silva, a legend in our sport, is caught. That’s what we need sometimes to change the game. Perhaps we need the legends, the Hall of Famers, to get caught. Vitor was a big shift. But Anderson is an almost god-like figure. For him to get caught made it so much more real. 

“I’ve been a clean fighter and I always will be. I’ve been very vocal. I’m a true competitor and some people are cheaters. I don’t really think highly of them.”

He adds: “Blood testing is going to change the game. Guys have been getting by with piss tests or using fake piss or cycling off. These guys are going to have to be clean all through their training camps and it will change the game. You’ll see a lot of the guys in the top 10s fall off.”

On the other hand, teenage experimentation helped mold his visceral ground game that’s delivered finishes in each of his last three fights. “I was always a very funky wrestler and when I started jiu-jitsu I liked to be creative and be my own artist and walk my own path,” Rockhold reveals. “I think I do that well. I separate myself from a lot of the guys. I’m very big into body mechanics and how the body works. I want to be able to adjust to certain situations.

“I was always listening to my body and doing weird stuff nobody else did. Jiu-jitsu coaches would just laugh at me and say that stuff’s not supposed to work. I just made it happen. Back when I was young I’d just get stoned and listen to my body. I don’t smoke anymore, but that was my old jiu-jitsu days. Getting high and doing jiu-jitsu right after high school. It helped me understand my body a little more.”