Bockhold Yaces Bomero, eyes Whittaker
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold hoped he would have the opportunity to win his belt back with a fight against current champ Robert Whittaker this weekend.
Instead, Rockhold will fight replacement opponent Yoel Romero on Saturday in the main event of UFC 221 in Perth, Australia. Well, maybe. Romero missed weight late Friday, and the sides were negotiating new terms for the fight.
If it does go off, Rockhold can win the interim belt with a victory, but Romero is ineligible for the title.
The way Rockhold sees it, he would be competing against the injured Whittaker, who won the interim belt with a narrow victory over Romero and was crowned undisputed champion when Georges St. Pierre vacated the title.
Should Rockhold score a more impressive win over Romero than Whittaker did, he would have just as strong a claim on the outright title, he said.
“I think that speaks for itself,” Rockhold said at a Thursday news conference. “I’ve beaten (top contender Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza). I’ve beaten every other guy in this division. I’ve got a way more impressive resume. He beat Yoel to be the interim champion. I take nothing away from Whittaker. I do have all the respect for him. He’s a gangster in this game, but if I beat Yoel and I put him away, it’s who did it better?
“He had a close fight. That was
2-2 going into the fifth (round). He showed his championship spirit, and he pulled through that fifth round. He did. He won. But if I can do it better, who’s the best? That’s what I plan on doing.”
The change in opponents, which was made a month ago, didn’t bother Rockhold. He knew he would have to beat Romero and Whittaker to solidify himself atop the division.
“I believe the three of us have separated ourselves from the pack, so this was bound to happen one way or the other,” Rockhold said. “Whittaker would have been first, Yoel would’ve been second. Yoel’s first, I’m sure Whittaker will be second. I’m up for the task. I’m not lacking in any way. I’m prepared to fight the best guys in the world. It’s a shame it’s not gonna be for the undisputed title, but Whittaker beat Yoel to be the interim champion. I’m gonna beat Yoel to be the interim champion.”
Rockhold, 33, knows the feeling of reigning supreme in the 185-pound division.
He captured the belt with a spectacular