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 Exclusive
interview with local StrikeForce middleweight Luke Rockhold
By Phil
Lanides
 Though
she came out technically the only champion at the StrikeForce
Challengers event this past Friday, Sarah Kaufman was not the big
star of the card. That distinction belongs to local favorite Luke
Rockhold (7-1). He destroyed Ultimate Fighter alum Paul Bradley in
the 1st round, earning his very first TKO victory. I spoke with the
Santa Cruz native yesterday, and I found him to be relaxed and easy
to talk with. Please enjoy this exclusive interview with the rising
star.
Phil Lanides: First off, how does it feel to get your first TKO win?
Luke Rockhold: It feels good to get technically my first TKO win. I
felt like I got robbed in the Cory Devela fight; I felt like I
knocked him out, but the refs missed it. He didn’t stop it. I think
it was a local referee, and I think he gave Cory every chance in the
world. But regardless, overall this was my most satisfying victory.
I got to show a lot of my standup, but it happened so fast, it was
hard to comprehend.
PL: In my opinion you got the best crowd reaction of all the
fighters on the card. How was it being such a big crowd favorite on
Friday?
LR: It felt really good, especially in such a small venue, with
everyone so up close and personal like that, hearing all the
chants…it was very satisfying. A lot of the people came out to
watch, and for things to work out the way they did, it was very
satisfying, and felt very good.
PL: Being so popular, did you feel any pressure with the crowd being
that into your fight?
LR: You feel a little bit of pressure in the last few days before
the fight, leading up to it. But to tell you the truth, once the
door closes on the cage, I’ve done all my work. I don’t question my
training, and I know I’ve done everything I need to do and more. So
once that door closes, I don’t think about anything except fighting.
All the pressure is there before the fight, but once it starts, it
lifts off.
PL: Paul Bradley is a tough opponent, as he had a 12-1 record coming
into the fight. What was your game plan coming for facing him?
LR: What you saw was my game plan, pretty much. I wanted to keep it
on the feet and knock him out. I knew I could do it. I’ve watched
some of his fights, and I knew he would probably stand a little bit.
More than a fighter like Jesse Taylor, who pretty much looked to
shoot for the takedown immediately. So I was hoping to catch him
early, but I didn’t think he’d want to stand for that long. Keep it
on the feet, but I thought I might have to fight a little from the
bottom. But it worked out.
PL: Did it take you by surprise that he didn’t really try to shoot?
LR: I was kind of expecting him to shoot a little more. I know he’d
said he has good jiu-jitsu defense, so I thought he might try that
out. But that didn’t work out, I guess.
PL: Did you have any physical issues coming out of the fight?
LR: I’m still recovering from two different knee injuries. I
sprained both my knees, and while one’s getting better, the other
one is still a little tight. To tell you the truth, I was a little
worried because I lost some of my mobility on the ground as a
result. Which was another reason why I wanted to avoid the ground.
So I’m looking forward to my knees healing so I can get that
mobility back.
PL: Which leads me to my next question: when do you think you’ll
fight next?
LR: I definitely want to take some time off. I may be taking a trip
to Thailand soon, so we’ll see. I’m at the end of this contract
thing, and I’m trying to find that real opponent that will help me
get to that next level. So it’s a little touchy right now, trying to
get everything figured out. It’ll probably three or four months
away, and probably more in the four month territory. So I won’t make
the April CBS card, so probably the next big card after that.
PL: In the cage after your win Friday, you said want to move up in
your level of competition. Is there someone you have in mind next?
LR: There are so many good guys in the division right now. I can’t
really name one guy, that’s not really my style. There is a group of
guys that I’d like to test myself against, and there’s a group of
guys that I just don’t think I’m quite ready for yet, like the
Jacare’s and the Dan Hendersons. I believe those two are the
toughest in my division right now, and Jake Shields is right there,
too, being the title-holder. But those three are very dangerous.
Everyone else, I think I match up pretty well with. Besides those
three, I don’t really care who I fight next. I’m very confident in
my skills, I want to be the best, but I just don’t want to jump
ahead too far just yet.
PL: Do you any message for your fans?
LR: I want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting me. I
appreciate that. I hope to return back to San Jose again soon, so
hopefully I’ll see you all again then.
PL: Thanks for taking the time to talk with Examiner.
LR: It was my pleasure
For more from Phil
Lanides check out
http://www.examiner.com/x-9970-San-Jose-MMA-Examiner
http://www.fightofyourlife.com/
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