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Luke Rockhold: Brock Lesnar represents ‘everything that’s wrong’ with MMA

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold had a hard time containing himself when Brock Lesnar was in the ring with Daniel Cormier at UFC 226.

Cormier’s coach, Rosendo Sanchez, got all the press for shoving Lesnar amid a made-for-TV moment with Cormier, the newly minted dual champion after his knockout of Stipe Miocic.

But Rockhold (16-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) considered jumping in the fray, too.

“I was trying to judge the situation, because I was about to pull a Diaz brother and jump on the back,” Rockhold told Submission Radio, referring to an infamous in-cage brawl in 2009 between UFC stars Nate and Nick Diaz and Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

“Brock was coming in hot and pushing DC, but DC kept his composure and was laughing it off,” added Rockhold, who’s planning to bulk up to light heavyweight for his next fight. “I’m not a big fan of Brock and his style, so I wouldn’t mind taking a leg home.”

When Rockhold refers to Lesnar’s style, it’s not just the smothering wrestling of the WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champ. Lesnar’s well documented history with failed drug tests is something that aggravates Rockhold to his core.

“That he cheats,” Rockhold said when asked to explain his reaction to Lesnar’s presence. “That he was exempt from (testing), so he could cheat. And the fact they bring him back after that positive test and treat him like a king, that’s everything that’s wrong with the sport.”

Rockhold is referring to an infamous chapter in the UFC’s history with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which granted the promotion’s request to exempt Lesnar from a four-month window of drug testing when he came out of retirement for a 2016 fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200. USADA then failed to expedite the results of a pre-fight drug test for Lesnar, who went on to fail both his pre- and post-fight tests for the banned estrogen blocker clomiphene.

Lesnar was suspended for one year by USADA, but his term was frozen when he opted to retire. The suspension was restarted after he came out of retirement earlier this month with the intention of challenging Cormier. The suspension is scheduled to end in January, and Lesnar is subject to random drug testing during that time.

Rockhold’s opinion of Lesnar clashes with his longtime friend and teammate Cormier, who dismissed critics of his fight with Lesnar as short-sighted and poverty-minded.

“I understand DC’s point of view: He wants the money, and I wish him the best,” Rockhold said. “I wanted to kick Brock’s ass and do that, but the fact that this sport promotes Brock Lesnar coming back off a positive steroid test after they exempt him before the fight, and he still tested positive, you don’t see that happen in any other sport, and it’s sad to see it happen in this sport. ”

Of course, Rockhold is unsure if the fight will even happen, given that Lesnar is not cleared to compete and faces several hurdles to the octagon. If it does, however, Cormier will do the job Rockhold would like to do himself.

“Well see if it happens or not, but DC wins the fight fairly easy,” Rockhold said. “Brock runs forward, tries to double leg him, and DC stuffs it, gets back up – whether he gets taken down or not – and he starts to throw hands on him, and he probably falls the same way as Stipe (Miocic).”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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