Luke Rockhold: Trilogy fight with Michael Bisping ‘in discussion’ with UFC

Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping each have a win over the other. The two are longtime rivals, inside and outside the Octagon. Bisping likely has just one fight left before retirement.

It only makes sense for that farewell bout to be the Rockhold trilogy, right? Bisping brought it up on his podcast recently. And Rockhold would like to see it happen, too, he told Ariel Helwanion Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. He said it is currently “in discussion.”

“You know that’s a fight that, if it’s on the table, I’m gonna have to put that at the front of the line before I do anything else,” Rockhold said. “If he can back up what he just said, I’ll be very willing to take that fight any where, any time.”

Rockhold is coming off a knockout loss to Yoel Romero in the main event of UFC 221 last month in Perth, Western Australia. He said he’ll likely be cleared to fight again in early summer and proposed a date with Bisping during the UFC’s annual International Fight Week — July 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las vegas.

With one caveat — Rockhold wants Bisping to come up and do the fight at light heavyweight. Rockhold said his days of making middleweight with those hard weight cuts are likely over.

“Let’s make it a little more intriguing,” Rockhold said. “Let’s bring it to 205.”

Rockhold (16-4) beat Bisping by second-round submission in November 2014 in Australia. Bisping then knocked him out stunningly — on short notice — to win the UFC middleweight title at UFC 199 in June 2016. The two have continued the words on social media and in the press throughout the last four years. They even got into a heated back and forth and mini scuffle in the post-fight press conference right after they fought for the second time.

Another fight between the two seems to make too much sense considering where both are currently.

“This excites me very much,” said Rockhold, who recently became the face of Polo Ralph Lauren’s Polo Blue fragrance.

Rockhold made it clear in the interview that he was very much down to fight and put the ball squarely in Bisping’s court to accept.

“Why don’t we do this thing in style?” Rockhold said. “Let’s sign on the bottom line. … I know this is a fight the UFC is pursuing. So, we’ll see. We’ll see if Bisping can back up his mouth once again.”