Dana White Wants Luke Rockhold To Earn Title Shot, Rockhold Responds
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold has been speaking out a lot against the UFC lately, including the fact he would like some clarity in the division.
UFC President Dana White recently stated that he would like to see the middleweight earn a shot at the middleweight strap instead of just talking.
“There’s a lot of guys talking about ‘deserve’ — nobody deserves anything. You’ve got to earn it here. You’ve got [Luke] Rockhold screaming right now ‘I deserve this’. You just got knocked out in the first round. You’ve got to come back and earn it,” White said at the UFC 211 post-fight press conference. “The guy just got knocked out in the first round by Michael Bisping and he thinks he deserves this and he deserves that. You earn it. You want to come back and you want to fight for the title? Get back in here and earn it. That’s it.”
Rockhold hasn’t competed in the Octagon since losing the middleweight title to Michael Bisping at UFC 199.
Upon hearing what the UFC President said, the middleweight issued a response of his own via Twitter.
@danawhite I never said I deserved a title shot. I said we (middleweights) deserve clarity. We deserve something to fight for.
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 16, 2017
@danawhite "You have to earn your way in this company"? Tell me how did GSP earn a middleweight title shot? Think before you run your mouth
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 16, 2017
The former champion may not have asked for a title shot, but he did recently ask for an interim middleweight title opportunity.
While Rockhold’s next fight has yet to be announced, MMA fans will see White next at UFC 212 this June.
