Luke Rockhold: I haven't even come close to my potential, yet
No. 1 middleweight contender Luke Rockhold has been tearing through opponents. Though he'd likely take any type of win this Saturday against champion Chris Weidman at UFC 194, he told FOX Sports that he honestly hopes that "The All-American" gives him a tougher, longer fight than he's had recently.
"I'm hoping Chris is the guy to do that," he said.
"I don't think I've even come close to my potential. If I get a guy that can take my shots and withstand my arsenal for the first round or two, I think you're going to see the best of me, coming forward."
Rockhold explained that he only gets more comfortable and effective as rounds go on. "I'm a slow starter," he explained.
"I get more relaxed. I get looser. I get more technical, I get faster, and you get to see way more of my game in the later rounds. In sparring, a lot of my best rounds are my third and my fourth. My fifth rounds are sometimes my best of all. I really think the longer Chris hangs in there with me, the better you'll see of me."
If their fight goes into the championship rounds, Rockhold expects to be the more technical fighter and to exploit holes in Weidman's aggressive style. "I like to find my timing and find my range before I get loose," he continued.
"I start kind of stiff, and then I understand the movement, the distance, and then I can start loosening up. That's how fighting should be. That's how I try to keep my mind. I try to be flawless."
Though he gives the champion credit for all he's done, and understands that Weidman's guts and will are forces to contend with, Rockhold sees big holes in the New Yorker's attack.
"If Chris comes forward, sloppy and over-aggressive, and I'm going to use that against him," he concluded.
"I'm going to start cutting angles and picking him off and make him pay for every sloppy mistake. I think he fights with a lot of heart and aggression, and I don't think that's the key. Aggression has proven to get people in trouble, in many ways, with the champions."
