Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Boetsch added to UFC 172 in Baltimore
After a swift and brutal knockout win in his last fight, Luke Rockhold asked for a top-five opponent. He called for Vitor Belfort or Michael Bisping specifically, but he’ll have to wait a little longer for any of those requests to be honored. Instead, the middleweight contender has agreed to face Tim Boetsch at UFC 172, the UFC announced on Tuesday morning.
Boetsch, ranked No. 11, is actually one spot lower on the rankings than Rockhold’s last opponent Costas Philippou. The 29-year-old Rockhold needed just 2:31 to finish Philippou largely on the strength of a liver kick in the main event of a UFC Fight Night event on Jan. 15.
That dominant victory got the American Kickboxing Academy product back in the win column after a knockout loss to Belfort last May. Rockhold is 11-2 overall.
Despite his plea, Rockhold never really had much chance of drawing Belfort since he was linked into a title fight with Chris Weidman, which is now set for May, and Bisping was paired into a bout with Tim Kennedy in April.
For a time, Boetsch (17-6) was making a run toward a top middleweight contender spot, winning four in a row highlighted by wins over Yushin Okami and Hector Lombard, but since then he’s dropped two of three. However, in his last fight which came last October, he edged out CB Dollaway in a split decision.
UFC 172 will mark the promotion’s first-ever venture into Maryland, with a show taking place at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore. In the main event, light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones looks to add to his record run of title defenses when he takes on the rampaging Glover Teixeira.
