...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The last few months of 2012 and the first half of 2013 saw a bunch of top ten fighters suffer setbacks in their careers. As we enter the second half of the year, many of them are looking to get back on track, including the final Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, Luke Rockhold.
The 28-year-old Rockhold entered the Octagon in May off of a perfect 9-0 run in Strikeforce, but he was cracked by a spinning heel kick from Vitor Belfort in Brazil in that bout, bringing the streak to an end. According to a report from UFC Tonight on Fuel TV this week, Rockhold's around a month away from returning to training, and he'd like to fight Alan Belcher when he returns.
Belcher'd surely be interested in a fight like that, having lost two straight fights and wanting a big win to bounce back. He had been on an impressive run of his own, dealing with a near career-ending detached retina in the middle of it, but then dropped a decision to Yushin Okami and suffered another scary eye poke against Michael Bisping in April.
The bout has not been officially booked, of course, but it's certainly got a lot of potential in the division if the UFC opts to put it together.
Penick's Analysis: I definitely like the idea of this fight. They're at a similar level, and it could be a really good win for both fighters after their recent setbacks. They're both in need of a win, and that could leave them both very motivated to put on a show against one another. That's typically conducive to a good fight, and hopefully that's what we see if it gets put together.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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