Luke Rockhold has called out Dana White for âbelittlingâ his fighters, this while suggesting the UFC President previously tried to beat him down mentally.
White recently made headlines when he suggested that former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones should consider dropping down to middleweight after Francis Ngannou captured the promotions heavyweight title at UFC 260.
That notion of course did not sit well with âBonesâ who said he just wants to paid his fair share for the proposed Ngannou super-fight. Dana White then took things a step further when he insinuated that Jon Jones didnât really want to fight âThe Predatorâ, or else he would have called already.
For Luke Rockhold, the recent bully- negotiation tactics displayed by the UFC President are nothing new. The former middleweight champion was a recent guest on the Rippinâ It podcast, where he revealed that Dana White had previously tried to beat him down mentally following his UFC 199 title loss to Michael Bisping.
âFighting is like a mafia. They have these very mafioso-type tactics in negotiations, they try to fâk with you. Iâm not having any of it,â Rockhold explained (transcription via BroBible). âIf you donât know your worth someone will tell you your worth and itâll be less than your worth, so know your worth. Once I lost the world title, Dana White came up to me and tried to beat me down mentally and I was like âfâk you,â straight up. I was like Iâm going to go do my own thing, if youâre going to try and offer me this and that bullâit, you know who I am and what I did, thatâs the only reason I went out and got a modeling contract so I could leverage myself.â
Luke Rockhold continued and proceeded to dub the UFC boss as a âtyrantâ.
âWe donât have the governing body. Weâve got an egotistical guy thatâs a bit of a tyrant,â Rockhold said. âNo one is going to try and fight you, youâve got to put your ass on the line, stand your ground, take risk, otherwise you get treated like a bâch. Itâs unfortunate, a guy like that, he thinks he can fight, he thinks heâs a fighter. I donât understand why heâs trying to belittle all the fighters when youâve never fought a day in your life. Youâre a promoter. We need a governing body to give people what they deserve, he doesnât play the game right.â
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Luke Rockhold provided an update on his proposed MMA comeback.
âI think realistically I think this summertime, a late-summer return. I just gotta get my body right. My shoulderâs been an ongoing issue but itâs finally coming around. Iâm getting to the point where I have confidence in it to let it go. Iâm pressing. Iâm pressing to get into shape. It feels good. It feels good to get back in the gym. Iâm finally getting a little fire back!â
Lol at this thread. Some funny shit.
crudz -
Lool, even eyes closed, i miss Romeo
crudz -
Still the sexiest thing Iâve ever seen in the cage
I actually kinda respect him for coming out and saying this so directly. Â Heâs not wrong.
Luke Rockhold has never had a problem speaking his mind, and he certainly had something to say on the topic of negotiating with the UFC when he appeared on a podcast this week.
Former UFC middleweight champion Rockhold (16-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) appeared on BroBibleâs âRippinâ Itâ podcast to talk golf and fighting and, when asked about his modeling work, took aim at the UFC and Dana White over their approach to negotiations with fighters.
âModelingâs modeling. The only reason I modeled in the first place is because fighting is like a mafia. They have these very mafioso-type tactics in negotiations. They try to f*ck with you. Iâm not having any of it,â he said. âIf you donât know your worth, someone will tell you your worth and itâll be less than your worth. So know your worth, and leverage yourself, too.â
Rockhold then explained how he ventured into modeling to help give him more negotiating leverage with the UFC by establishing a lucrative side gig that meant he could afford to say ânoâ to fight offers he felt were too low.
âOnce I lost the world title, Dana White came up to me and tried to beat me down mentally, and I was like, âF*ck youâ â straight up,â Rockhold said. âI was like, âIâm going to go do my own thing. If youâre going to try and offer me this and that bullsh*t, you know who I am and you know what I did.â Thatâs the only reason I went out and got a modeling contract â so I could leverage myself. So I went back and within a year I got the fragrance (deal) with Ralph Lauren. Then youâve got Dana and them calling back to me like, âHey Luke. What do you want to do? Can you fight here? Do you want this amount of money? Do you want that?â and Iâm like, âYeah, thatâs right, motherf*cker!'â
Gonch -Â
agreed
Are we all going to forget how Dana acted during Chack/Rampage on commentary? His little butthurt meltdown about another manâs performance in a fight when he was never anything but a fat pussy aerobics instructor?Â
"Urges fighters to know your worth". How? There is no instrument that can measure it. Your worth as a fighter is how much you can get for a fight. So everyone already knows their worth - it's in their contract.
Agreed, egg regularly bashes the same fighters heâs supposed to be promoting.
Exactly.
