"I'm actually glad that he retired" - Sean Strickland says "uptight c**t" Luke Rockhold won the belt at "very easy time"
Sean Strickland has claimed he's happy that Luke Rockhold announced his retirement from the sport at UFC 278. The middleweight added that, according to him, the former champion won the title during an easy time in the division.
In an interview with The Schmo at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Strickland called the MMA veteran an "uptight c*** ." He also stated that he was glad not to hear Rockhold's name anymore in MMA:
"I'm actually glad that he retired, man. You will not meet a human being who will meet Luke Rockhold and say 'that is a solid guy, I want to go hang out with him.' Luke Rockhold is the definition of what an uptight c**t is and I'm glad that I do not have to hear his name or see him in the MMA community."
Strickland also revealed that he did not watch the UFC 278 fight against Paulo Costa and had no clue who won the co-main event. However, he did give Rockhold props for being in shape while also throwing shade at the former titleholder:
"No one thought Luke was going to win [against Costa], we all knew that. F***** guy is a champ, he does train, but he wasn't going to win, but like, he's not a can. You don't win a belt, even if he did win at a very easy time, you don't win a belt and then suck."
Watch Sean Strickland talk about Luke Rockhold below:
Rockhold, meanwhile, left it all in the ring during his battle with Costa but ended up on the losing side, after which he announced his decision to walk away from the sport.
"I gave it my all ... I'm f---ing old."
Luke Rockhold was full of emotions as he announced his retirement after #UFC278 https://t.co/QsJvGcH2sB
Rockhold is a former middleweight champion who beat Chris Weidman at UFC 194 to win the title. However, he was displaced from the top spot after losing to Michael Bisping six months later at UFC 199.
Brendan Schaub praises Luke Rockhold for "Hollywood-like" exit after loss
Brendan Schaub has praised Luke Rockhold after the 'Fight of the Night' against Paulo Costa at UFC 278. In a new episode of his podcast, The Schaub Show, the former UFC heavyweight praised Rockhold for letting his guard down and allowing fans to see his "real" side:
"I'm talking about Luke who has been a guy that a lot of people didn't enjoy or kind of s**t on all the time because of his attitude and the way he looks. For the fans to give him a standing ovation and him crying and stuff like that, and him to let his guard down and finally you see kind of a glimpse of the real Rockhold who's a good guy. I thought it was very Hollywood-like for a guy of his magnitude to go out on his shield and show us heart..."
Rockhold was visibly out of breath, even placing his hands on his knees during the fight. However, he went all three rounds in his first fight in three years, eventually announcing that he would leave the sport after a long and storied career.
Watch Brendan Schaub talk about Luke Rockhold's retirement below: