Luke Rockhold Goes Off on Sean Strickland Before Exciting UFC 328 Clash

Luke Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) may not be actively competing in MMA at this time, but he's still around to serve as a sparring partner for incumbent UFC Middleweight Champion Khamzat Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) as he prepares for his Saturday night contest against No. 3 contender Sean Strickland (30-7 MMA, 17-7 UFC.) This contest serves as the focus of the UFC 328 main event from Newark, NJ's Prudential Center.

Rockhold has a history with the No, 3-ranked middleweight combatant involving a postponed bout. During UFC 268 in November of 2021, the two fighters were due to have squared off against one another inside the fabled Octagon, but the showcase would never come to pass.

Ahead of the card at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the fight would be scrubbed after Rockhold suffered a herniated disk. This contest would not be rescheduled.

Luke Rockhold Goes Scorched Earth on Sean Strickland During Ariel Helwani Show Appearance

With UFC 328 fight week underway, Luke Rockhold took time out to discuss his past rapport with Sean Strickland during an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show. He didn't hold back when talking about the No. 3 contender at 185 lbs. 

"I didn't even know who Sean was when he first rolled into our training camp," Rockhold began. "He showed up on our doorstep and he was just a loud idiot. He was trying to beat up kids who were helping him and trying to knock them out consistently after he already hurt them."

From there, Luke Rockhold delivered a blunt assessment on Sean Strickland.

"He's not one of those guys I like to be around," he continued. "He's just not a good person."

Luke Rockhold Recalls First Encounter with Sean Stickland

Rockhold and Strickland initially trained earlier this decade during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even back then, the former knew that he had a bad feeling about the latter.

"He just showed up one day and this kid was just a loudmouth idiot," he said. "He started beating up some of the guys and hurt some of the guys. You know you hurt a guy and you try to 'Okay, you're on our turf. Okay, let's finish the round.'"

Luke Rockhold went into detail about how Sean Strickland couldn't tone down his aggression even in his training sessions during that time.

"The guy's hurt and you're going to work the body, try to work around it," he recalled. "No, Sean went straight for the kill, tried to head kick the guy and knock him out again and again. He just has no regard for human beings, especially on someone else's turf.  I don't appreciate people like that. People like that, who never have gotten over their childhood traumas, it's an obvious portrayal of what that man's been through, what he does face, what he doesn't face."

Luke Rockhold Sizing Up Sean Strickland vs. Khamzat Chimaev

After venting on Sean Strickland, the interview shifted to Luke Rockhold breaking down the UFC 328 main event on Saturday night

"It's going to be a tough fight," he mentioned. "I'm not going to say like a lot of other guys think it's going to be easy for Khamzat. Relaxation is the key to the game. He is good on the feet, he's great on the ground. Sean's tricky as hell. He's just weird."

Rockhold admitted that Strickland's contests aren't that easy for him to watch.

"I don't think a lot of people ," he continued. "He's effective in getting up. His style somehow works, so we'll see. We'll see how it all plays out. I think there's different levels and Khamzat comes out there and he performs every time."