Earlier this week, on the latest edition of The MMA Hour, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold called for a fight the division’s interim champion Robert Whittaker.
“They have to make up backup plans,” Rockhold said. “They’re trying to make fights like [me versus] Yoel Romero right now. Why would I fight Yoel Romero no one clearcut fighting Whittaker? Obviously I want to fight for the title if that’s available, I’m not going to f*cking sign any fight. I want to fight for the title, and if that’s available, that what I’m going to do.”
Rockhold, of course, is not the only middleweight with his sights set on Whittaker. Shortly after knocking out former champion Michael Bisping late last month, surging contender Kelvin Gastelum also called for a battle with the interim champion.
Evidently feeling that Rockhold is trying to swipe his favored matchup, Gastelum took to Twitter to ask the fans what they’d prefer. Though he doesn’t mentioned Rockhold explicitly, it’s quite clear that’s who he’s referencing in “option A”, as Rockhold recently emerged from a prolonged layoff to defeat David Branch, who only recently joined the UFC fold.
See Kelvin Gastelum’s Tweet below:
A: Fought only once in 18 months against someone who wasnt even competing in the ufc a year ago.
B: Fought 4 times in 12 months, 3 of them in the main event in the last 8 months against former champions ranked in top 10 of the division. *Doesn’t have a modeling career. 🤷♂️
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) December 6, 2017
“A: Fought only once in 18 months against someone who wasn’t even competing in the UFC a year ago,” Gastelum said.
“B: Fought 4 times in 12 months, 3 of them in the main event in the last 8 months against former champions ranked in top 10 of the division,” he continued, referencing himself, including the fact that, unlike Rockhold, he doesn’t have a modelling career.
Who would you prefer to see fight Robert Whittaker? Luke Rockhold or Kelvin Gastelum?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/12/2017.