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Luke Rockhold is reinvigorated after announcing that he was granted his release from the UFC, officially making him a free agent. He can now test the free agent market and speak with other promotions.
During his appearance on The MMA Hour, Rockhold brought up Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz being free agents and mentioned that the three of them have an opportunity to make 2023 a year for correction. He told Ariel Helwani (23:11 - 23:34):
"I think there's a lot of bullsh*t going on but like I said, I think 2023 could be a year of correction. I think we could fix a lot of sh*t this year. So, I'm excited to be a part of that and let's go boys. Francis [Ngannou], I wish all the best. Nate [Diaz], I wish all the best. Myself, let's go f***ing make some sh*t happen."
The former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion feels that he needs a change of scenery to regain his passion for MMA. He mentioned that at this stage of his career, he's not interested in having to work his way up through the rankings just to get an appealing fight was a factor in requesting his release, saying (13:04 - 13:23):
"Where I was in the UFC, who was going to get me excited? The only guy that really gets me excited in the UFC would've been like an Israel [Adesanya], a [Robert] Whittaker, or [Alex] Pereira and I have to work my way through that again. And for what it's worth, it's not really worth my time. I need something new."
Watch Luke Rockhold's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
Luke Rockhold supports Francis Ngannou for leaving the UFC
Luke Rockhold has a lot of respect for Francis Ngannou after the former UFC heavyweight champion declined a contract extension with the UFC in favor of becoming a free agent.
While speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion mentioned that he was happy for Ngannou and shared his sentiments for wanting to leave the UFC (13:44 - 14:03):
"I respect Francis. Me and Francis have always seen eye-to-eye and I have absolutely the most respect for Francis making his choice and wanting his freedom. Freedom is the f***ing thing. Negotiations are not fun with Dana [White]. I've been through a lot of them."
