Luke Rockhold details the inspiration he gets from Israel Adesanya
Luke Rockhold shared that he was inspired by Israel Adesanya after he knocked out Alex Pereira to regain his middleweight championship at UFC 287.
While speaking to Submission Radio, Rockhold detailed the inspiration he gets from Adesanya. He mentioned that the middleweight champion's mentality and performances have been inspirational to watch.
"Yeah, no doubt [Adesanya's win over Pereira was inspiring]. Definitely, 'Izzy's been...I'm sure I inspired 'Izzy' as he was younger and he's inspiring me now. You draw inspiration through everybody. He was a fu**ing gangster." [20:18 - 20:30]
The former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion also noted that he was proud of 'Izzy' for finally defeating 'Poaton', who had gotten the better of him in their previous bout as well as both their kickboxing bouts. He complimented Adesanya for his knockout win, and avenging his loss to Pereira, saying:
"It was picture fu**ing perfect [Adesanya's knockout win over Pereira]. Good for him." [19:58 - 20:02]
The 38-year-old returns to action later this month as he makes his bareknuckle boxing debut against former UFC veteran Mike Perry in the main event of BKFC 41 on April 29.
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Luke Rockhold confident he will defeat Mike Perry at BKFC 41
Luke Rockhold is confident ahead of his bareknuckle boxing bout with Mike Perry at BKFC 41 on April 29.
While speaking to MiddleEasy, the former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion shared his thoughts on Perry and described what he plans to showcase in their bout. Rockhold mentioned that he is confident in his skillset and plans to remind the combat sports community how great of a fighter he still is, saying:
"I think I'm better than I've ever been, especially my boxing. Everyone remembers like I was so good at kicking and so good at grappling and I would just force my way into that situation cause it was the easiest way to win. I'm not a dumb fighter, I'm gonna fight the smartest way possible." [4:42 - 4:56]
It will be interesting to see how Luke Rockhold performs in his bareknuckle boxing debut, and whether it will be a one-off bout or if he plans to continue fighting for BKFC.