Luke Rockhold Confirms He’s Holding Fight Camp in Florida, Professes Loyalty to AKA

Luke Rockhold has had a change a scenery as he prepares for his upcoming bout at UFC Fight Night 116.

The former middleweight champion confirmed via Instagram that he has been training in Florida with Henri Hooft ahead of his Sept. 16 showdown with David Branch in Pittsburgh. Rockhold is a longtime staple of the American Kickboxing Academy team in San Jose, Calif., but said that injuries to many of his teammates made the move necessary.

American Kickboxing Academy will always be my home. Due to the injuries and inactivity to our key guys, my team and I have decided it best I prepare for this fight in Florida,” Rockhold wrote. “All the usual suspects will be in my corner with the addition of [Henri Hooft] . I'd like to thank Henri, Kami Barzini, Greg Jones and all my teammates here in Florida for helping me prepare for this fight. September 16th we ride.”

Rockhold hasn’t competed since relinquishing the 185-pound belt to Michael Bisping in a surprising first-round knockout loss at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016. He was supposed to make his return in a rematch against Ronaldo Souza at UFC Fight Night 101 on Nov. 27, but a knee injured forced the California native to withdraw from that bout.

Rockhold vs. Branch will serve as the main event for UFC Fight Night 116, which takes place at PPG Paints Arena and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

American Kickboxing Academy will always be my home. Due to the injuries and inactivity to our key guys. My team and I have decided it best I prepare for this fight in Florida. All the usual suspects will be in my corner with the addition of @henrihooft . I'd like to thank Henri, Kami Barzini, Greg Jones and all my teammates here in Florida for helping me prepare for this fight. September 16th we ride.

A post shared by Luke Rockhold (@lukerockhold) on Aug 17, 2017 at 2:55pm PDT