"He's a promoting genius" - Luke Rockhold gives his thoughts on Conor McGregor threatening Dustin Poirier after UFC 264 leg break
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has given his take on the antics of Conor McGregor after his horrible injury and loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
The Irishman kept trash-talking Poirier and his family while he was sitting down on the octagon, something that left fans divided.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Mike Heck asked Luke Rockhold about his opinion on it all and provided the example of Ronda Rousey backing McGregor and his actions. Rockhold said:
"It's Conor, man. He's a promoting genius. There's a lot of fucking people that want to see him win. A lot of people want to see him lose. He's doing it right. Whatever he's doing, he's doing something right."
Former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey tweeted that she was amazed by McGregor's presence of mind. She also said that the UFC and its fighters were lucky to have someone like him in the industry.
Rockhold did agree with those sentiments, and while fans might not see it the same way, they would likely still rather have McGregor in the industry than not.
Heck also asked Rockhold about recent UFC events like UFC 264 and if he felt like he was missing out on something great. Rockhold replied:
"It feels good to see the world come back and filling up an arena, getting that energy back into the game, it's like, that's what sparks us, us that want to thrive under that spotlight and that's what it's all about."
Also Read: "There's no way" - Luke Rockhold doesn't feel Dustin Poirier's check was enough to break Conor McGregor's leg
Luke Rockhold explains why fighting in an empty arena is not for him
Luke Rockhold also added that he found the lack of fans uncool and that he was glad that the pandemic is now easing up. He said:
"Fighting in an empty arena, it just doesn't sound as cool and doesn't feel like the same way. You're watching fights in the pandemic and it's just like there's nothing there. You can't even feel it. Now it's definitely a different feeling and everything is coming back to full fruition and it's more exciting to come back."
Watch the full video here:
Mike Heck also took to Twitter to share his interview with Rockhold. He included a quote from the former champ about his potential return to the octagon. It read:
"Give me something that excites me, my fans, my people, and all of us. Otherwise, f*ck off and let me go because i ain't gonna do that."