"I would prefer to get in there soon, but looks like I'm gonna have to wait for the winner of Jacare and Carmont or Machida and Mousasi. So who knows what the deal is. Besides that, there is not much out there. Bisping is fighting Kennedy and Mark Munoz is coming off of a loss, so it's a tough spot right now. That's why I'm not closing the door on 205 to tell you the truth. I would move up and fight there for a big name opponent...Obviously I'm looking for big fights. I'm looking for that rematch in the future and I'm looking to be the champ. It's gonna be a good ride and I'm gonna enjoy it," stated UFC middleweight contender Luke Rockhold, who talked about his recent win over Costas Philippou, his future plans, and much more. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on your knockout win over Costas Philippou. You invested a lot of work to his body and it paid dividends. Did you feel that would be a key to victory?
LR: It was just a mix of various attacks with high and low kicks. That liver kick, I like it a lot. I like my head kicks a lot. I knew my kicks were gonna be there. I didn't see him blocking them very well when I was doing my homework. Everything landed pretty perfectly. It couldn't have gone much better. I landed the right hook, the head kick, and the body shot and I finished it early, so that's the way I like it.
PC: I liked the performance because you hurt him with a body kick and sometimes fighters don't realize they have their opponents hurt. It appeared you knew it right away and landed that same kick seconds later, which ended the fight.
LR: Yeah! No doubt. I use that body kick a lot and a lot of people cover up well and it's hard to read them, but I have done them for so long, I'm pretty good at reading my opponents and I usually know when I have my opponents hurt. It doesn't take much. Once you touch that liver and got them hurt, you just gotta touch anywhere around that thing and it's pretty much gonna be the end of the night. I love it.
PC: You kept your distance well with your punches and kicks. With your height and reach advantage, was that the plan going in?
LR: Yeah, it was to keep my range, and for him to get to me, he had to use his boxing game. He didn't have the reach to compete with me on that front, so I wanted to keep him at the end of my shots and the end of my kicks and really focus on that. He tried to rush in. I could bait him well with that right hand; can pretty much land that on anybody. I was gonna try to bait him in and land solid punches and throw a lot of kicks. That's what my game plan was. I will put that out there for anybody and make that work (laughing). I want to earn that respect so that everyone has to be prepared for that.
PC: I remember talking to either Mo or DC after your UFC debut against Vitor Belfort and we agreed that it looked like you never got comfortable and was rushing everything. You seemed a lot more settled for this one. Was that the case?
LR: Yeah, it was a learning experience. I was eager to prove myself. I was emotional and a little bit pissed off. Vitor was...there was a lot with going down to Brazil to fight him and a lot of things that went into that. I wanted to beat him up (laughing) for everybody and myself. He pissed me off at the weigh-ins and the press conference with his little antics and everything and I just really...I don't know. I'm not his biggest fan. I got emotional and I don't really do that when I'm fighting. It's good to have that as a learning experience and to be able to sit back and give perspective of what I did wrong in that fight. I just need to stay calm and focused and take my time, and when I do that, I realize I'm a lot better fighter, and in this training camp, I really built that in my head to relax and let everything be and take my time. Once I found my timing, then just let it go. That's gonna be me from now on.
PC: You really wanted that Michael Bisping fight. It looks like Tim Kennedy has that one locked up. Is there anyone else out there you are looking to get in there with?
LR: It's hard. There is not that many guys right now in the division in the top 10 that is available. I mean, Jacare is fighting Carmont. I fought and beat Jacare before and he is above me in the rankings somehow. Ummm, that's interesting. But their fight is down the line. I would prefer to get in there soon, but looks like I'm gonna have to wait for the winner of Jacare and Carmont or Machida and Mousasi. So who knows what the deal is. Besides that, there is not much out there. Bisping is fighting Kennedy and Mark Munoz is coming off of a loss, so it's a tough spot right now. That's why I'm not closing the door on 205 to tell you the truth. I would move up and fight there for a big name opponent. But who knows?
PC: That may be a good move for you. I still don't know how you make 185.
LR: (Laughing) I actually make 85 pretty easy compared to a lot of guys. It's funny, I did my pre-fight and pre-weigh-in meeting with the doctor and he checked my blood pressure and everything and he said my blood pressure was better than everyone else and that I cut weight really well. He was impressed at how I was able to get down.
PC: You haven't exactly been healthy lately. How did it feel to enter a fight for the most part as healthy as you could be?
LR: It definitely played a huge role being healthy. It is something that I wanted to take advantage of; that's why I want to get back in there sooner than later while I am healthy. No doubt, you're always going into fights and training camp with injuries and whatnot. Some injuries are a lot more serious than others, but this was one of my healthiest training camps and I feel good. I'm excited to get back in there as soon as I can and hope to stay healthy.
PC: When will you get back in the gym or will you take it easy until your phone rings with a date and opponent?
LR: I don't know. It depends. Until I get the fire or until something sparks my interest, while I'm looking for a fight, I'm not gonna get too far out of shape, but I think a little time away from the gym is key. And usually, I will get that itch and that let's me know I need to get back in the gym. I get that feeling and I come back with fire to go back into camp. Just getting away, I'm still into fighting and I like watching it, but sometimes I like to get away from it for a little bit. And then there are always little bruises and things that I like to let heal up too while I'm out. But something kind of comes over me like, what the hell are you doing? Get your ass back in the gym. I usually just listen to my conscious.
PC: Great body shot knockout. Glad to see the world got to see your full arsenal this go 'round and best of luck to you this year. Is there anything else you want to add?
LR: (Laughing) It's funny because, like you said, the world gets to see it, but that's how MMA is, man; like I wasn't doing anything in Strikeforce. It's nice to prove myself here in the UFC. That felt good to wake people up and try to shake that Vitor fight off of my back. Obviously I'm looking for big fights. I'm looking for that rematch in the future and I'm looking to be the champ. It's gonna be a good ride and I'm gonna enjoy it.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]