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.”