Luke Rockhold Responds to Anthony Smith With More “Truth”

Luke Rockhold has said he doesn’t think much of Anthony Smith as a fighter, and the former middleweight champ isn’t backing off that assessment, as tensions rise with “Lionheart”.

As Smith bombed his way to the top of the light-heavyweight division in recent months, Rockhold wasn’t shy about trashing the veteran fighter and referred to him as a “middleweight washout“. The comments got back to Smith, and they didn’t sit well with the noted finisher, to put it mildly.

Well, recently Rockhold was a guest on “The MMA Hour”, and while discussing his back-and-forth with Smith, the talented fighter said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“It’s pretty funny,” Rockhold said. “I didn’t really realize I was still in his head that bad, so I don’t know. Maybe the guy’s just, like I said before, he’s scared of the truth. I don’t know what I did to exactly provoke all of that, but … I just talk the truth too much, what can I say.”

“…I got a problem telling the truth, so I don’t think much of him,” added Rockhold before weighing-in on Smith’s bout this Saturday with Alexander Gustafssson. “I don’t think he’s a credible character in the division, really. He’s about to get shut down. He’s about to get it [from Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Stockholm]. He’s going to get beat up bad, back-and-back, and be put in his place, just like I said.”

There you have it. Now, obviously, these statements are only going to fuel Smith’s dislike for Rockhold. The latter was also asked about the possibility of fighting Smith, and Rockhold said that if Smith beats Gustafsson, then he would “definitely entertain” that fight. Which, of course, makes sense. Gustafsson is currently ranked #3 at 205, and Rockhold is moving up to light-heavyweight to face Jan Blachowicz on July 6th. So, if Rockhold gets by Blachowicz, whose ranked #6, he’ll leap straight into the top ten.

It will be interesting to see what transpires with this growing beef over the coming months. Both fighters, however, have stiff tests ahead of them. If you’re wondering, Smith is a fair sized underdog on the betting lines ahead of UFC Stockholm.