"The ground with me is different" - Luke Rockhold lays down strategy to beat UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya
![Luke Rockhold (left) and Israel Adesanya (right) [Images Courtesy: @lukerockhold and @stylebender on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/08/1e274-16280936852587-800.jpg?w=500)
Luke Rockhold has been vying to make a return to the octagon for a while now. The former middleweight champion recently weighed in on his potential UFC return along with a range of other topics.
Luke Rockhold even laid down a strategy to dethrone current UFC middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya. According to Rockhold, Adesanya is bound to have developed a well rounded game given the time he has spent at the top of the middleweight ladder.
While Rockhold acknowledged that there wasn't a single approach to beating 'Izzy', he also claimed to have a few tricks up his sleeve.
Regarded as one of the best grapplers to have ever graced the octagon, Luke Rockhold believes he would have a definite advantage over Israel Adesanya on the ground. Listing other weapons in his arsenal, Rockhold told Submission Radio:
"Yeah, I think anybody who's been champion for as long as he has, there's reason he does. There's not like one direct avenue to beat him. You have to have every aspect of the game. And you have to be able to f***ing press and press further than he'll ever go. You know, than anyone will go in that space. So, Israel's you know I think, he's just a lost of avenues of course. You know, obviously the ground with me is different. But you can't force the issue there, you have to let it come and you lose one, you gotta get back to the next. There's other avenues, to get inside on him, different things. And I think the outside, being able to attack and fight him from the outside, use my length, just the checks and things I have... I think can be assets."
Luke Rockhold responds to Israel Adesanya's birthday tweet
Israel Adesanya has bulldozed through the UFC's middleweight division, leaving the likes of Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori in his wake.
'The Last Stylebender' recently slammed the entire division by posting an instigating tweet on his 32nd birthday.
Given the idea of his potential return to the division, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was asked to respond to Adesanya's recent tweet. Giving Adesanya a taste of his own medicine, Rockhold responded with a short:
"Well said c**t!"