Things are beginning to heat up between former middleweight champions Sean Strickland and Luke Rockhold.
During a recent appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast with another former UFC titleholder—Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson—Rockhold expressed his disdain for ‘Tarzan’ in a not-so-PG way
“I hate that guy. I know a lot of people look at me. They just hate me,” Rockhold said. ‘I see this f*cking kid’s face every time I see him, is just f*cking disgusting. He’s a fake little b*tch. I know who he is. I don’t think he believes the shit he’s saying these days. He’s just spouting off.”
Rockhold also made it clear that if UFC CEO Dana White is willing to sign off, he’ll step back inside the Octagon and hand Strickland a proper beating.
“If Dana gives me that hall pass. I’ll come in. I will step on that kid,” Rockhold added.
https://x.com/Home_of_Fight/status/1798391148991427054
It didn’t take long for Rockhod’s unsavory words to get back to Strickland. Never one to ignore a callout or back down from a challenge, the Anaheim native snapped back at Rockhold, revealing that the two were previously scheduled to fight.
Couple things… I sparred you 1 round, f*cked you up and you snuck away like a b*tch,” Strickland wrote on X. “This was witnessed Also we were scheduled to fight. I said “hell yeah that’s a easy paycheck” And you pulled out a few weeks out… Xtreme? I’ll f*ck you up for fun lol.”
Clearly, the door is still open at Xtreme Couture if Rockhold wants to try and “step on” one of the best boxers in mixed martial arts.
Sean Strickland Puts Himself in Line For Title Opportunity with a Big Win at UFC 302
With a dominant victory over Paulo Costa—aside from one judge’s confusing scorecard—Sean Strickland has likely lined himself up for another crack at the middleweight title. Initially, he claimed the crown with a sensational showing against former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September.
Unfortunately, Strickland’s time with the title was short-lived as he surrendered it to Dricus Du Plessis four months later at UFC 297.
Now carrying a victory over ‘The Eraser,’ Strickland is likely the next man in line for a shot, once Adesanya and Du Plessis settle their long-gestating business later this year.
