"He's a stud" - Josh Thomson revisits Luke Rockhold's iconic title-winning efforts in two organizations
Sean Strickland recently undermined Luke Rockhold's title run, claiming that the former UFC and Strikeforce champion won his belts during an easy time. Former UFC lightweight fighter Josh Thomson contested Strickland's opinion while lauding Rockhold's Strikeforce title run.
According to Thomson, Rockhold fought and beat extremely tough opponents at a very young age in Strikeforce. To make his case, Thomson revisited Rockhold's title wins over Tim Kennedy and Jacare Souza in Strikeforce. The former UFC lightweight fighter said on the Weighing In podcast:
"You have to remember who he beat. Strikeforce had some f***ing murderers there. Tim Kennedy, Jacare [Souza]. Those guys were studs back then. And he was beating them then. He was young too... He was a baby when he came over from Strikeforce and he was beating guys like Jacare, who was a f***ing animal. And then Tim Kennedy, who was an animal as well. So he wasnt beating slouches over in Strikeforce. And so he is a, like you said, two promotion champion. He's a stud."
Watch the latest episode of Weighing In below:
Luke Rockhold was hardly 27 years old when he dethroned Jacare Souza in an absolute barnburner to be crowned the Strikeforce middleweight champion. Rockhold even mounted consecutive title defenses over Keith Jardine and Tim Kennedy before the promotion was taken over by the UFC.
Luke Rockhold explains possible reasons behind extreme fatigue in Paulo Costa fight
Luke Rockhold recently returned to the octagon to face Paulo Costa in the co-main event at UFC 278. The former UFC middleweight champion dropped a unanimous decision in a "bizzare" Fight of the Night battle against Costa.
Rockhold surprisingly managed to go the distance after he was seen holding on to his knees and breathing heavily at the end of the second round. The 37-year-old recently explained what might have led to his extreme fatigue at the UFC 278 co-headliner.
According to Luke Rockhold, the altitude of the venue, which is around 1290 meters above sea level, might have played a part in tiring him out. He also admitted that he did not expect to have his nose broken by Costa in the first round, which led to difficulties in breathing. The former UFC middleweight champion said during an appearance on The MMA Hour:
“I didn’t expect him to get the takedown and to break my nose in the first. One of those rabbit punches in the first round broke my nose. I was having to breathe out my mouth, and altitude, and struggling off the bottom, getting through the nerves of everything. I think once I got through that, everything just set in like, ‘F*ck, here we are. Time to fight.’”
Watch Rockhold's interview with Ariel Helwani below: