Filed under: News, UFC, Videos

Luke Rockhold is keeping his options open with regard to his future following a successful return to competition from a 15-month layoff at UFC Fight Night 116. That includes a potential change in weight class down the line.

Rockhold’s (16-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) comeback fight after losing the UFC middleweight title to Michael Bisping in June 2016 went largely free of error on Saturday when he managed to overwhelm David Branch (21-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) for a second-round stoppage win in the FS1-televised headliner at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

After the fight, Rockhold heavily criticized the upcoming 185-pound title fight between Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) and Georges St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) at UFC 217 on Nov. 4. He said “The Count” will smoke St-Pierre and thinks he should instead get the next title shot because he will put up a real fight.

Rockhold is unlikely to be next in line, though. Interim UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker (19-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) sits atop the queue and is waiting for his unification match against the UFC 217 winner. Rockhold said he would be interested in fighting Whittaker in the meantime, because he views him as the most legitimate titleholder.

“Whittaker is definitely an interesting fight,” Rockhold told MMAjunkie after his main-event win. “I think he’s the true champion right now – the man who fights the fights that count, other than some poser up there running away with the belt.”

It seems illogical for Whittaker to accept another fight before facing the Bisping vs. St-Pierre winner, which leaves Rockhold in a bit of a predicament. A rematch with fellow former UFC champ Chris Weidman (14-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), who Rockhold defeated by fourth-round TKO at UFC 194 in December 2015, was suggested. However, there doesn’t appear to be much interest, at least from Rockhold’s side.

“Chris Weidman’s lost three in a row,” Rockhold said of Weidman, who is actually coming off a win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on FOX 25 in July. “That doesn’t make much sense at this point. I’d rather not do that again at the moment.”

With options limited, Rockhold said a change in weight class could be in his future. His top priority is still to regain the UFC middleweight title, but Rockhold admits his weight cut for UFC Fight Night 116 was among the worst he’s ever endured ahead of a fight.

A move up to the light heavyweight division is almost guaranteed before his career is over, Rockhold said, but he doesn’t intend on jumping up a weight class while his good friend and training partner Daniel Cormier holds the position as UFC champion.

“I’ll fight light heavyweight,” Rockhold said. “The weight cut was rough. I’m not going to lie, it always is. … I’d love to go to light heavyweight. I’d do really well. In the gym, it’s more natural for me. I think I could do things. But ‘DC’ is obviously the man in the division right now. I’m not going up until he gets out. If he goes up or he retires, you can damn well guarantee I’m coming up. I have business to do here first.”

Rockhold’s ability to handle more meaningful business in his division going forward stems from a winning performance against Branch. It wasn’t Rockhold’s best showcase in the octagon, he said, but ultimately he got the job done.

Despite some criticisms of a slow start, Rockhold said the early portions of the fight where he struggled was all about getting his footing back after a long layoff. He managed to get past that and batter Branch into submission with strikes.

“I was OK with (my performance),” Rockhold said. “I didn’t expect him to come forward so hard. I wanted to find my timing, get my range. It was a bit of a weight cut and just trying to get my bearings there in the clinch and figure it out. When I’m best, I wait.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 116, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

Filed under: News, UFC, Videos