Luke Rockhold would’ve loved to have tested Anderson Silva during “The Spider’s” prime.
Rockhold’s time as a professional MMA fighter is likely over. While Rockhold hasn’t announced his retirement, he has said it’s unlikely that he’ll ever return to the Octagon. That may be music to UFC president Dana White’s ears as he expressed his desire to see Rockhold walk away from the sport after he was brutally knocked out by Jan Blachowicz back in July 2019.
Rockhold Wanted To Fight Silva In His Prime
Rockhold is a former UFC middleweight champion but he never got to compete against Anderson Silva. During an appearance on the Major Waves Podcast, Rockhold said he would’ve loved to have the opportunity (via MMAJunkie.com).
“I wish I would have had the chance to fight Anderson,” Rockhold said on the “Major Waves Podcast.” “Especially in that time, I think I would have beat him. I don’t know – I think there’s just promotional reasons. They didn’t see it quite right at that time. If I would have beat Vitor (Belfort), then me and Anderson would have fought right away, straight away. But then I had to go reprove myself through the ranks after that loss.”
Silva was once considered to be the most dominant competitor in MMA. “The Spider” had an incredible 16-0 record under the UFC banner. He had 10 successful UFC middleweight title defenses. His reign finally ended in July 2013 when he was knocked out by Chris Weidman.
Rockhold went on to defeat Weidman to capture the 185-pound gold. Unfortunately for Rockhold, his MMA career went downhill afterward. Since capturing the UFC middleweight title, Rockhold has gone 1-3 including his KO loss to Michael Bisping which ended his short-lived reign.
If Luke Rockhold was given a title opportunity against Anderson Silva back in 2013, who do you think would’ve emerged victorious?
