Rockhold vows to retire if Bisping beats him again
(Warning: Story contains coarse language)
Luke Rockhold just upped the ante on a potential rubber match with Michael Bisping.
The longtime middleweight rivals have traded barbs since Rockhold fell to Yoel Romero by third-round knockout at UFC 221 in February. With Bisping just one fight away from retirement, the 33-year-old Rockhold vowed Wednesday to call it a career himself should the Brit get the better of him once more.
"I'll put it on this: If Bisping beats me in this fight, I'll be the motherfucker who retires," Rockhold told FloCombat's Damon Martin. "If Bisping beats me in this fight, this will be my retirement fight."
Rockhold's comments come mere days after Bisping said he'd share the cage with his "mentally challenged" rival for the third time if approached with the right offer. The brash Brit also found some ammunition in Rockhold's brutal loss to Romero, but Rockhold was quick to remind Bisping that his last two losses came at the hands of former welterweights Georges St-Pierre and Kelvin Gastelum.
"Motherfucker, you got knocked out two times in a row by 170-pounders," Rockhold said. "Don't talk about my knockout to Yoel fucking Romero. He's been knocked out more than me if you want to get down to it."
The ex-champ submitted Bisping in November 2014, but lost the middleweight crown to him by first-round knockout in their second meeting at UFC 199.
Rockhold recently set his sights on a move up to 205 pounds, and aims to close the book on his beef with Bisping in July at UFC 226 in Las Vegas. The onus is on Bisping to meet him halfway.
"There's a lot of things I want to do but the motherfucker ran his mouth," Rockhold said. "He opened the door. I'm not one to turn down opportunities. I back up everything I say and I put it on the line. I'm going to back up what I say and let's see if Bisping can back up what he says. I'm ready to go. The UFC is ready to go. The fans are ready to go.
"It all comes down to one boy. We'll see if he's a man or a boy. Men back up their words. Little boys run away."