Imagine the balls required to publicly call out your boss like that.
Luke Rockhold did not take kindly to the UFC’s initial decision to award Georges St-Pierre a middleweight title shot upon his return to the Octagon.
St-Pierre was slated to face off with reigning 185lbs champion Michael Bisping this year but due to St-Pierre’s insistence on waiting until the end of 2017 for the fight, it appears that the organisation is going in a different direction now.
St-Pierre is out and Yoel Romero is in, by all accounts. And that does seem a hell of a lot more logical to everyone with regards to contenders deserving of a title shot at middleweight.
After praising the UFC’s turnaround, another top contender, Luke Rockhold, got into it with UFC president Dana White.
@danawhite I never said I deserved a title shot. I said we (middleweights) deserve clarity. We deserve something to fight for.
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 16, 2017
@danawhite "You have to earn your way in this company"? Tell me how did GSP earn a middleweight title shot? Think before you run your mouth
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) May 16, 2017
Rockhold fearlessly tagged his boss and told White to “think before you run your mouth,” after hearing what he had to say last weekend.
“You’ve got to earn it here,” White had said at the UFC 211 post-fight press conference. “It’s like these guys want to sit around — you’ve got Rockhold right now screaming ‘I deserve this.’ You just got knocked out in the first round. You don’t deserve anything. You’ve got to come back and earn it.”
Fond of getting the last word in arguments, White didn’t take long to respond to the former middleweight champion via Twitter.
@LukeRockhold pic.twitter.com/3buw7twqEv
— danawhite (@danawhite) May 16, 2017
“I usually never respond but GSP never lost his title,” White wrote.
“Bisping, GSP and the fans wanted it. Stick to fighting and modelling and leave the matchmaking to us.”
All 4.5 million of White’s followers were treated to the response but it was not without its issues.
Fight fans are an observant bunch and they wasted no time in pointing out three key flaws in White’s succinct tweet.
1 – White always responds.
The UFC president has a reputation for engaging Twitter trolls more than a multi-millionaire ought to and his suggestion that “I usually never respond,” was jumped upon by certain followers.
@danawhite @LukeRockhold You respond to trolls on twitter literally every other day. Nothing in this statement is remotely true
— Kyle Zaepfel (@go2hellcarolina) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold ” I usually don’t respond” – the guy who responds everytime
— cody terrill (@hartleyq10) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold “I usually never respond” lol, you spend your time insulting people on twitter
— Tamahagane (@tam2j) May 16, 2017
2 – GSP didn’t lose his title but he was champion at welterweight, not middleweight.
It is true that St-Pierre didn’t lose his title before deciding to step away from the sport for over three years but surely that’s irrelevant as he was not given the opportunity to return to the pinnacle of the welterweight division. He was allowed to leapfrog everyone at middleweight.
@danawhite @LukeRockhold What does never losing the welterweight title have ANYTHING to do with a middleweight title shot? It doesn’t. Have him fight the bore @ WW
— Tyler Schritz (@TylerSchritz) May 17, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold Are you kidding me Dana? GSP never lost his WELTERWEIGHT title. In what way would that entitle him to fight for a middleweight one.
— Grace Fam (@Grace_MMA) May 17, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold So since he was the welterweight champion, that earns him a middleweight shot upon return. Okay..
— Josh (@Hiru4Hire) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @SandhuMMA @LukeRockhold Yeah he never lost the welterweight title not middleweight what a dumb response
— Reu (@AfcReu) May 16, 2017
3 – There were not that many fans crying out for Bisping vs. St-Pierre. In fact, there were barely any.
White’s argument that he was giving fans what they wanted doesn’t really hold water.
@danawhite @LukeRockhold No one wanted bispng vs gsp lmao
— Bladimir (@BBrated) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold nobody wanted bisping v gsp. We all want Romero v bisping!
— Ruudboy MMA (@mma_ruudboy) May 17, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold Okay – but let’s be honest @danawhite the fans don’t want that garbage! Gsp vs @TWooodley is the fight to make!
— Chat Shit Get Banged (@DesmondMMA) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold NO WE DO NOT pic.twitter.com/9KS2Vg5Y4B
— Indiana Jones’ Fists (@KrimsonVnm) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold No sir you are wrong. Fans did not want that crap fight.
— Comics’N’Combat (@comicsncombat) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @LukeRockhold No fans wanted this fight. That’s a lie.
— Natan Cohen (@NatanCohen17) May 16, 2017
@danawhite @bokamotoESPN @LukeRockhold What so called “fans” actually wanted this fight? pic.twitter.com/uSnybnMoiX
— Joe Ansaldi (@RecordsandHabs) May 16, 2017
