UFC's Luke Rockhold: I'm better than Michael Bisping, everywhere
UFC middleweight contender Luke Rockhold (12-2) is confident heading into his UFC Fight Night: Sydney main event contest against Michael Bisping (25-6) Nov. 8. Like, really confident.
By all appearances, he should be. Rockhold has lost only once since 2007 (whereas Bisping has lost half of his last six fights), is a half-decade younger than the British star, and has stopping power on the feet and on the ground.
And, oh yeah, Bisping was recently dominated by a fighter who Rockhold has a win over, in Tim Kennedy. All that said, the American Kickboxing Academy stand out insists that he respects Bisping's abilities, though he can't stand his abbrasive personality.
"There are definitely up-sides to fighting Bisping," Rockhold tells Cagewriter.
"He's well-known, and I have a win over Tim Kennedy, who beat him. But, Bisping is a tough guy. You can't write him off. He's good at everything. He's been able to beat some of the top guys out there because he can expose their weaknesses. Usually, guys have a weaknesses somewhere. He's strong in all three areas - wrestling, stand up striking, and on the ground. Bisping has been able to isolate guys in their weak realm, and beat them."
Despite their war of words, during interviews, conference calls, and on Twitter, Rockhold clearly respects Bisping as a fighter. If surfer-turned-fighter believes Bisping is elite, he's certain that he himself is simply the best in the division, however.
"With me, he's running into a problem," Rockhold explains.
"I'm better than him in every area. I'm one of the most well-rounded fighters out there. I think this is a good stylistic match up for me. I believe that I'm the best fighter in the division, and I can't wait to show everyone how much I've improved, and where I'm at, at this point in my career."
"The Count" seems to relish his role as a villain, and has told all who will listen that his barrage of trash talk is getting to Rockhold. The San Jose fighter maintains that Bisping is sorely mistaken, if he believes that he's unfocused in any way.
"I’m completely focused," he says.
"I keep hear him mentioning that he's getting under my skin. If anything, I think he's the one who is riled up. On all the conference calls, interviews together, and things like that, I've been pretty calm. He keeps getting upset and raising his voice. I think I've been cool, calm and collected. I'm very confident going into this fight. I'm just going to relax and do my thing."
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