Bisping gives his thoughts on Rockhold’s UFC return and says the former champ needs to stop moaning about Georges St-Pierre.
Luke Rockhold had some problems early on against former WSOF middleweight and light heavyweight champion David Branch at UFC Fight Night 116, but the AKA product found his groove in the second round and got the stoppage.
Despite forcing Branch to tap out to strikes, UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping thought Rockhold looked ‘sloppy’ in his return to the Octagon and believes the Californian has serious holes in his boxing.
“Ultimately, congratulations to Luke he won the fight and got a stoppage in the second round. I thought he looked very sloppy if I’m honest,” Bisping said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour (h/t Adam Guillen Jr. of MMA Mania).
“He has a problem with people that can box, people that get inside. He landed some good shots, did David Branch, and if he had a bit more pop he could’ve taken Luke out of there. Congratulations, job well down you got the finish buy he needs to be careful because there is a lot that can be improved upon, but well done.”
Bisping knocked out Rockhold in one of the sport’s biggest upsets last year, becoming the first British champ in UFC history. ‘The Count’ went on to defend the middleweight title against Dan Henderson, and his second title defense will be against former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, who announced his decision to come out of retirement earlier this year.
Rockhold, 32, has been heavily critical of the bout and called GSP a ‘joke’ for thinking he has a chance of winning the belt.
Bisping, 38, told Rockhold to stop ‘sulking’ about the match-up and is baffled by his prediction that St-Pierre won’t make it to the fight.
“I mean, Jesus Christ the guy really needs to stop sulking,” Bisping said. “He didn’t do himself any favors but God bless him. The guy can’t get through a sentence without interruptions, stuttering, lots of thinking, saying th Georges isn’t going to make it to the Octagon and all this and that.
“Maybe I’m wrong, but when was the last time Georges ever pulled out of a fight? Now that it’s official and were doing press and training, I just don’t see Georges pulling out of this fight at all. Does he have a history of doing that? Not to my knowledge.”
Bisping will defend the 185-pound belt against St-Pierre at the upcoming UFC 217 pay-per-view, which is scheduled to take place on November 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York.