Former UFC middleweight champion and current color commentator Michael Bisping took a shot as his longtime rival Luke Rockhold during a recent episode of his podcast, Believe You Me.
“The Count” and Rockhold, who also held the UFC middleweight strap, have fought twice in the promotion. Rockhold won the first fight via second-round submission in 2014 when they were both working their ways up to a title shot.
Bisping, who is now retired, won the rematch in 2016 by first-round knockout, taking Rockhold’s middleweight title.
The two have had bad blood for years, stemming from when Bisping revealed publicly that he beat Rockhold in a sparring session a few years prior to their first fight when Rockhold was the Strikeforce middleweight champion
There was an immense amount of trash talk between the two fighters during the build and aftermath of both their UFC bouts.
During episode No. 278 of Bisping’s podcast, which he hosts with comedian Luis J. Gomez, The Count mentioned that UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern has been training with Jason Parillo, Bisping’s longtime head coach, and she has been working on her standup game.
Rockhold has also been spending time with Parillo, who is regarded as one of the best striking coaches in MMA. According to Bisping, Dern and Rockhold had a sparring match at the RVCA Sport gym in California.
“[Dern] is training with Jason Parillo now, I see her at the gym down there,” Bisping said during the podcast. “She works very, very hard, sparring guys. I saw her sparring Luke Rockhold recently. I mean, good for her. Say what you will about Luke Rockhold, picking off easy prey there, you know what I mean?”
“That’s what he’s doing these days, he’s getting knocked out by people, now he’s sparring girls,” Bisping laughed. “That’s going to be a headline tomorrow.”
The YouTube channel “MMAnytt” shared a compilation of some of Bisping and Rockhold’s verbal exchanges. Watch below:
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Rockhold Has Been Working With Parillo & Is Planning a UFC Return
Parillo shared a clip a few months ago of himself and Rockhold training with the caption: “@lukerockhold coming threw today. Don’t worry!? I love @mikebisping! And he don’t give a f***!”
Both Rockhold and Parillo have shared multiple pictures and videos of the former champ at the gym, with the most recent being last week.
Earlier this year, Rockhold (16-5) revealed he plans to make a comeback after contemplating retirement. He’s 1-3 in his last four bouts and has dropped his last two. All three of the losses have come via knockout, with his last coming in July 2019 to now-light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz.
Rockhold told ESPN he wants to return to the middleweight division. He is currently rehabbing his shoulder after receiving surgery for a torn labrum and rotator cuff.
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Dern Recently Picked Up a Victory a UFC 256 & Parillo Was in Her Corner
Dern put her training with Parillo to the test when she fought Virna Jandiroba in the featured bout of UFC 256 on Saturday night. It was a hard-fought battle and Dern picked up her third victory of 2020, defeating Jandiroba via unanimous decision.
The submission ace improved her professional MMA record to 10-1, increasing his win streak to three.
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UFC’s Michael Bisping Slams Ex-Champ: ‘Now He’s Sparring Girls’