New Champ Rockhold Praises AKA Teammates, Chin of ‘Jacare’
Luke
Rockhold defied the bookmakers on
Saturday night, using a varied striking attack and consistent
takedown defense to wrest the Strikeforce
middleweight title from Ronaldo
Souza in a hard-fought unanimous decision at U.S. Bank Arena in
Cincinnati.
Rockhold weathered some early offense from “Jacare,” as the American Kickboxing Academy product was taken down in the first round and staggered in the second by several hard shots from the Brazilian. However, the lanky 26-year-old fought through the submission specialist’s attacks, finding his range as the fight progressed.
Prior to his performance against Souza, the once-beaten Rockhold
had never made it out of the first round, a fact the Californian
admitted had him a bit on-edge during the biggest fight of his
young career.
“Yeah, [I felt some nerves] as the rounds went on. I had never been out of the first round, so I was [thinking] ... goddamn, this guy keeps coming,” said Rockhold in an interview with Showtime Sports following the bout. “I hit him with some good shots. I know I hit pretty hard, but he’s got a better chin than I thought. I’m just glad it’s over now.”
One key to Rockhold’s victory was his ability to stop the takedowns of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in the championship rounds. Following the bout, with gold draped over his shoulder, Rockhold once again credited his training partners for his in-cage performance.
“It was real tough [to defend the takedowns], because his takedowns are real explosive. Once he gets in on you, he just keeps on coming. Luckily, I train with some of the best wrestlers in the world, so my takedown defense is awesome,” said Rockhold, a teammate of Strikeforce heavyweight and former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier. “Even when I get taken down, I bounce up. That was the whole goal tonight. If I did get sat down on my butt, I was getting up. I kept pushing the pace and I got the win.”
Rockhold’s last in-cage appearance came roughly 19 months ago when he knocked out Paul Bradley in February 2010. After taking a colossal step up in competition, Rockhold now finds himself atop the Strikeforce middleweight ranks. It’s unknown when the new king may have a chance to defend his crown, but for now the new champion will savor his victory with his team and for his family.
“We spar so hard at AKA, I get butterflies. I’ve got to go spar with some of the best guys in the world. I called it today. I said we were going to go 4-0,” said Rockhold. “It feels pretty good to win [the title] in front of my family. Some friends came a long way to support me. I love everybody out there in Santa Cruz, the Bay Area, California and beyond. It feels good to get it done.”
Rockhold weathered some early offense from “Jacare,” as the American Kickboxing Academy product was taken down in the first round and staggered in the second by several hard shots from the Brazilian. However, the lanky 26-year-old fought through the submission specialist’s attacks, finding his range as the fight progressed.
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“Yeah, [I felt some nerves] as the rounds went on. I had never been out of the first round, so I was [thinking] ... goddamn, this guy keeps coming,” said Rockhold in an interview with Showtime Sports following the bout. “I hit him with some good shots. I know I hit pretty hard, but he’s got a better chin than I thought. I’m just glad it’s over now.”
One key to Rockhold’s victory was his ability to stop the takedowns of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in the championship rounds. Following the bout, with gold draped over his shoulder, Rockhold once again credited his training partners for his in-cage performance.
“It was real tough [to defend the takedowns], because his takedowns are real explosive. Once he gets in on you, he just keeps on coming. Luckily, I train with some of the best wrestlers in the world, so my takedown defense is awesome,” said Rockhold, a teammate of Strikeforce heavyweight and former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier. “Even when I get taken down, I bounce up. That was the whole goal tonight. If I did get sat down on my butt, I was getting up. I kept pushing the pace and I got the win.”
Rockhold’s last in-cage appearance came roughly 19 months ago when he knocked out Paul Bradley in February 2010. After taking a colossal step up in competition, Rockhold now finds himself atop the Strikeforce middleweight ranks. It’s unknown when the new king may have a chance to defend his crown, but for now the new champion will savor his victory with his team and for his family.
“We spar so hard at AKA, I get butterflies. I’ve got to go spar with some of the best guys in the world. I called it today. I said we were going to go 4-0,” said Rockhold. “It feels pretty good to win [the title] in front of my family. Some friends came a long way to support me. I love everybody out there in Santa Cruz, the Bay Area, California and beyond. It feels good to get it done.”
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