UFC on FX 8 headliner Luke Rockhold: 'Black belts don't mean s--t to me'

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) said Vitor Belfort (22-10 MMA, 11-6 UFC) won’t be knocking him out with any flashy kicks, and if their fight hits the ground, he’ll come out on top.

“[Belfort] is using more kicks, but being a southpaw vs. southpaw, it’s going to nullify a lot of the kicks for him,” Rockhold recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “He’s really heavy with the left high kick. I think I have more diversity in my kicks, and I’m going to use that to my advantage.

“If it goes to the ground, I think it’s my world. I know he’s a longtime black belt, but black belts don’t mean s–t to me.”

Gold belts, however, mean a lot to Rockhold, who makes his UFC debut after a decorated run in Strikeforce, where he was the organization’s final 185-pound champion. So far, champs from the now-defunct promotion have yet to capture a UFC title.

When he headlines UFC on FX 8 opposite Belfort, Rockhold thinks the key to being the first is preventing the former UFC titleholder from setting up any offense.

“I definitely want to keep it exciting and high-paced and keep a lot of pressure on Vitor,” he said. “I feel like I can beat him anywhere, and I have to employ my range and my kickboxing. I’m not going to just straight box with Vitor. That would be stupid.

“It’s really going to refine my skills and perfect my striking and make me be very precise. I expect a different fight for me.”

UFC on FX 8 takes place at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The event’s main card, including Belfort vs. Rockhold, airs live on FX following prelims on FUEL TV and Facebook.

In his most recent performance, the veteran Belfort showed just how dangerous he still is in the striking game by knocking out top contender Michael Bisping with a head kick at UFC on FX 7. The win put him one fight closer to a rematch with middleweight champ Anderson Silva, who knocked out Belfort two years ago to halt a career revival at 185 pounds.

Rockhold, of course, aims to deny Belfort yet again. With nine straight wins to his credit, and a belt-grabbing win over the top 10-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, he’s managed to meet all challenges thus far. Belfort, though, is the biggest he’s ever faced.

“Times have changed,” Rockhold said. “I feel like this is my time, and it’s going to be a changing of the guard. It’s just another opponent when the cage door closes.

“I feel like I’m still the champ and I have something to defend, and I’m going in there to win.”

For the latest on UFC on FX 8, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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