After entering the competitive world of Jiu-Jitsu following a successful high school wrestling career, Strikeforce middleweight prospect Luke Rockhold quickly discovered that he had what it took to make the transition into a full time mixed martial artist in 2007. Training alongside some of the best fighters and trainers in the world at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, Rockhold is now sitting on an impressive 6-1 professional record, having finished all six of his opponents within the first round. Having compiled a spotless 5-0 mark since joining the California-based Strikeforce promotion in 2008, Rockhold is now looking to push himself into the upper echelon of the promotion’s 185lb division with another impressive win over Paul Bradley in one of the featured bouts of the sixth installment of the Strikeforce Challengers Series, which is set to kick off on Friday, February 26 from the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California.
Rockhold recently spoke with Tapology’s Steven Kelliher in order to discuss his beginnings in the sport, his recent propensity for rear naked choke-induced victories (four in a row), and his thoughts on Bradley and his future in the Strikeforce middleweight division.
Tapology: You are a prospect that a lot of people are talking about right now at 185lbs. I wanted to start with your background in martial arts and how you got involved in mixed martial arts in the first place.
Rockhold: I have been involved in martial arts all my life. I began competing in Judo from the time I was six years old, won a bunch of tournaments, and then I got bored with that. I was the youngest of three brothers, but I would always take my beatings and keep coming for more. Growing up in California, I got out of training for a while and got into skating and surfing.
I got into wrestling in seventh grade and competed through high school. I ended up getting pretty good at wrestling and went on to the California State Championships. I found Jiu-Jitsu in high school; my sister and brother-in-law had been doing it for a while, and I really liked the fact that it was more of a finishing style than wrestling was. After high school I knew I didn’t want to live that college wrestler lifestyle, being a Santa Cruz guy, but I had a breaking point after high school where I was trying to find myself.
I was getting pretty good at Jiu-Jitsu—I won the U.S. Open in Santa Cruz in 2006— and I put two and two together, realized AKA was right around the corner in San Jose, and I came here to test myself out. I did really well, I trained with some of the top guys, Javier Mendes said I had a lot of potential and from there I just started changing my life to find a schedule to get over here to train.
Tapology: Are you still working any other jobs or is MMA your full time career now?
Rockhold: Recently, this has become my full time job. With my last couple of fights, I have been getting paid well enough to actually make it.
Tapology: You mentioned that you were better suited for Jiu-Jitsu than wrestling, but does your wrestling base give you the means to get your opponents to the ground and put them in positions where you can finish them with your Jiu-Jitsu, as you have in all six of your professional wins to date?
Rockhold: Completely. My wrestling is huge. A lot of people think it’s just my Jiu-Jitsu, but the reason I have done so well is my aggressive Jiu-Jitsu, and that’s from wrestling. I might have been losing some matches in wrestling, but I would just leg-ride people and take top position in almost every fight I had.
Tapology: Your last four wins in a row have come by way of Rear Naked Choke. Is that a favorite technique of yours or do you just find yourself often in the proper position to pull it off?
Rockhold: I think it comes from my leg-riding days in wrestling. Having that good back control transfers very well into Jiu-Jitsu. When I get a hold of somebody’s back, I feel like I can hold on and get the finish. I’ve got so much more to show, and I’m a lot more dynamic than just that, but if I get there I feel like I can finish.
Tapology: Looking at your record, it is clear even without watching any of your fights that you are an aggressive fighter. Are you looking to finish everyone you go up against and would you be content with a decision victory?
Rockhold: I’ve never believed in decisions. I got screwed a lot in decisions in wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu, and ever since I’ve gotten into MMA I don’t want to have that happen again. When I train for my fights I’m ready to go three rounds as hard as I can.
Tapology: There are a ton of great grapplers at AKA, but obviously many of the trainers specialize in striking. How do you fare on your feet in training and can we expect to see evidence of your striking training in your next fight?
Rockhold: I feel like my stand-up is coming along really well. I think I can stand up with pretty much everybody, but I’m not going to play with fire. If I feel like a guy has a hole on the ground, then I’m going to take it there, but if I feel like he might be difficult on the ground or if he might have bad standup then I’ll keep it there. This next fight, for example, is one that I really feel that I can win on the feet. I feel like I can beat him on the ground, but I think my edge is a lot better in the standup.
Tapology: Before we get to your next fight, I wanted you to talk us through your last win—arguably your biggest to date—over Jesse Taylor in November. Did you surprise yourself with how quickly you were able to get the submission against such a powerful wrestler?
Rockhold: He is a tough wrestler. I didn’t doubt myself finishing him that fast—I thought he might pose a problem if he held me down—but I think you can tell that I was really active on the ground, I was very confident in my abilities and in my training partners, and I knew going into that fight that he would not be too much for me.
Tapology: You will be fighting Paul Bradley on February 26 on Showtime. You hinted already that you believe you have the edge in the stand-up and also on the ground, so do you think your overall well-roundedness is going to be the key for you in this fight?
Rockhold: Yes, I think my well-roundedness is going to be the biggest factor in the fight. I think I can hurt him on the feet, I’m a good scrambler and I can get into good positions on the ground. I think as long as I create the scrambles I can come on top in this fight. I want to try to put Paul Bradley on his back. I don’t think he has ever been put on his back before, but I think I can make that happen.
Tapology: You train with the likes of Cain Velasquez, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and many others at AKA. Do you think doing well against that kind of competition in training every day has given you the confidence necessary to take on tougher competition as your career progresses?
Rockhold: Big time, I think having that experience with those guys is huge. I train with Cain Velasquez a lot and going with him really helps me deal with a big, strong wrestler. Going with these top caliber guys has made me more confident when going against better guys.
Tapology: Strikeforce has been making some big moves over the last year or so. Should you earn an impressive victory in this fight, do you think that will earn you a spot on the main card of a CBS show or a bigger Showtime-televised card in your next bout?
Rockhold: I’d like to be. Anything can happen, but I would definitely like to be on one of those cards.
Tapology: Should you stick with Strikeforce for the foreseeable future, you will likely be going up against names like Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields, Melvin Manhoef and other fighters of that caliber should you keep winning. What do you think about those guys and how big would it be for you to take on some of those guys?
Rockhold: I think there are some really tough guys in that division. Jacare and Dan Henderson are there as well, and I think they are the biggest challenges out there right now. Jacare is getting more well rounded, and he has that aggressive Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling, and then Henderson is just Henderson. I think I can fight with those guys, but like I said I’m not going to play with fire. I would like some more experience, but I think I can eventually be ready for those challenges. As long as everything goes well in my next couple of fights, there are some names in the top ten that I think I can be ready for in the near future.
Tapology: Thanks for the time, Luke, and good luck in your next fight.
Rockhold: Thanks a lot.
