New UFC champ Rockhold respects Romero, but wants Belfort 'on silver platter'

Luke Rockhold may be the UFC middleweight champion, but he hasn’t let go of his lone setback to take place inside the octagon.

After taking out Chris Weidman (13-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) by fourth-round TKO to capture the 185-pound belt in Saturday’s UFC 194 pay-per-view co-headliner in Las Vegas, Rockhold (15-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) said he wants his shot at revenge against Vitor Belfort (25-11 MMA, 14-7 UFC), who gave him a rude welcome to the UFC with a spinning wheel-kick knockout in May 2013.

“What I would like, why not? Vitor Belfort on a silver platter,” Rockhold said after the event, which took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena. “I got to right my wrong. What can I say?”

Although Rockhold’s desire to avenge his lone defeat is the past seven years is admirable, Belfort may not be the most deserving challenger after Weidman stopped him in the first round of a title fight at UFC 187 in May.

“The Phenom” rebounded from that loss with a first-round knockout of Dan Henderson in November, but the fighter with the most worthy resume in the weight class is Yoel Romero (11-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC).

Romero earned his seventh consecutive UFC victory at UFC 194 when he narrowly defeated Ronaldo Souza by split decision in a fight that was promoted as a title eliminator. The win may have been controversial, but Romero has found a way to repeatedly win in the UFC and has earned his shot.

Rockhold said he wasn’t particularly impressed by Romero’s performance against “Jacare,” but he appreciates the body of work the Cuban fighter has put in and would welcome the challenge.

“I love Yoel; he’s a very slick cat, but he better work on his cardio,” Rockhold said. “Yoel had a so-so performance, but it was a little iffy. I respect the guy, and he’s very tough, but is that (win over Souza) credible?”

Whether it’s Belfort, Romero or someone else, whoever gets the opportunity to take the title from Rockhold will be in for a stern test. The new champ has finished his opponent in all five of his UFC victories.

“I’m in for a big fight; I want a big fight,” Rockhold said. “The middleweight division is in a weight place now. We’ll see what happens, and we’ll see what the boss wants. I want a big, big fight. I’ll leave it at that.”

For complete coverage of UFC 194, check out the UFC Events section of the site.