Luke Rockhold is picking against his countryman at UFC 328.
In the May 9 main event, Rockhold’s fellow former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland vies for gold again when he challenges the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev. Strickland will have a home-field advantage of sorts as he competes in front of an American crowd in Newark, N.J., but Rockhold—who recently trained with Chimaev—still thinks Chimaev will have a significant edge on fight night.
And if that means watching another U.S. fighter lose,
Rockhold is OK with that.
“Sean is effective and he’s scrappy and he hangs in there,” Rockhold told Adam Zubayraev. “Khamzat is so much more talented, it’s about who can relax and implement their game plan the best and Khamzat’s doing everything he needs to and I think he can really have a masterclass. I think last time out there was a little bit of tension, he wanted to win the world title. Now he can go out there and be his best and I expect the best from Khamzat and I would love to see him put this f*cking American away.
“I’m American, but I like good people. Khamzat is a great person, through and through. Sean Strickland, he’s a piece of shit.”
Strickland’s popularity has soared in recent years, due to his stunning middleweight championship upset of Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 and an unfiltered persona that involves him frequently making offensive comments. Ahead of his win over Anthony Hernandez in February, he drew the ire of Hernandez when he posted a photoshop depicting himself as an ICE agent and Hernandez in stereotypical Mexican garb. He has also targeted the LGBTQ+ community and suggested women should not be allowed to vote.
Chimaev suggested that if he and Strickland were to meet outside of the octagon, it could be dangerous for him, prompting Strickland to reply, “I’m the last dude in America you should threaten.” Rockhold is amused by the back-and-forth but doesn’t think Chimaev is rattled in the slightest.
“Piss him off?” Rockhold said. “I doubt that, no. Sean doesn’t roll as deep as my man here, so I think we’re in good hands and a fight’s a fight. You’ve got to play the game.”
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