Luke Rockhold finished the always tough Tim Boetsch with one of the most impressive submissions in UFC history Saturday night at UFC 172. Rockhold forced the tap at 2:08 of the first round with a reverse triangle-Kimura shoulder lock combination.
The two middleweights traded feints and kicks in the opening seconds of their fight before Boetsch shot in for a single leg take down on Rockhold. The former Strikeforce champ scrambled well to defend the take down once but then fed his own leg through and around the arm and head of Boetsch, giving up the take down but - more importantly - securing an inverted triangle choke.
"The Barbarian" looked to be in trouble inside of the choke but did not give up immediately. In fact, Boetsch defended well and continued to move until Rockhold - still holding on to the triangle with his legs - grabbed an arm of his opponent and wrenched it in a Kimura shoulder lock.
"That reverse triangle, that's my bread and butter...I come with different angles. That's like second nature for me. I always go for that Kimura finish," an elated Rockhold said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
Rockhold has now won two straight bouts and called for a rematch with the last man to beat him - Vitor Belfort. "I want to get a title shot but I want to earn it," Rockhold said.
"I don't want anything given to me and I think the best way to do that is through Vitor Belfort...what better guy to beat than Vitor Belfort?"
Belfort knocked Rockhold out nearly a year ago in brutal fashion. The loss hasn't sat well with Rockhold, however, especially since it took place in Belfort's native Brazil where "The Phenom" was able to use Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) at a time when major athletic commissions like that of Nevada's did not seem receptive to the idea of Belfort - who had been caught with steroids in his system during a 2006 fight - receiving the requisite therapeutic use exemption to use TRT and compete in the states.
Now that TRT has been effectively banned altogether, Rockhold has intensified his trash talk of Belfort in recent weeks. For his part, Belfort gave up a middleweight title shot shortly after the TRT exemption bans in Nevada and California went into effect.
Should he not get a rematch with Belfort, the AKA fighter said he has "unfinished business" with Michael Bisping. Who do you want to see Rockhold fight next?
Let us know in the comments section!
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