Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has doubled down on his callout of Sean Strickland as the two continue to feud online.

After a bittersweet end to his UFC tenure in 2022, Luke Rockhold has found himself back in the limelight thanks to a brutal war in BKFC against Mike Perry, followed by a viral knockout victory at Karate Combat 45 earlier this year.

Yet Rockhold isn’t done with calling out active UFC stars, with the former middleweight champion now engaging in an intense rivalry with another former ruler of the UFC’s 185lb weight division; fan-favorite Sean Strickland.

Sean Strickland wasn’t happy with Luke Rockhold’s initial callout

The intense feud erupted after a recent episode of the Jaxxon Podcast, in which Rockhold stated that not only was Strickland faking his controversial persona for the cameras, but that he’d be willing to face him in the UFC octagon – should Dana White give him permission.

“He’s a fake little b****. I know who he is. I don’t think he believes the shit he’s saying these days. He’s just spouting off… If Dana gives me that hall pass. I’ll come in. I will step on that kid.”

In response, Strickland revealed that the two had already sparred together before and claimed that it hadn’t gone well for the 39-year-old Rockhold.

“I sparred you 1 round, f**** you up and you snuck away like a b****, this was witnessed… Also we were scheduled to fight. I said, “hell yeah that’s a easy paycheck” And you pulled out a few weeks out.”

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for Rockhold to respond once again, albeit this time with more vitriol.

Luke Rockhold doubles-down on Sean Strickland callout

Speaking via The Schmo YouTube channel, Rockhold doubled down on his callout of Sean Strickland and arguably took things one, if not several, steps further as he continued his verbal assault on the popular fighter.

“I’m not a fan [of Sean], he puts on the most boring fights of all-time, he’s a fake, he’s a fraud. I think he’s f**** acting… I’ve heard he’s got social media managers telling him what to do and telling him what to say, so yeah; try to be a little more real boy.

“Sean acts like ‘oh I’ll f*** go to the death’, puts on his hillbilly, right-wing bogan attitude when he’s really just a f***** b****. You ain’t gonna fight to the death, you go out there and you put it on the line the last 5 seconds of every fight.”

Rockhold described Strickland’s style as akin to a “stupid nutcracker kicking and punching like an idiot,” before noting that a clash at Xtreme Couture, another MMA gym, or even the UFC itself could be on the table, for the right price.

“What the fans want is what the fans get, if it makes sense [then] we’re going to get it. I would fight that kid any way, in any form, for the right paycheck of course.

“Sean’s got his one thing, and he needs the right guy to expose him… I feel like when I’m on my game, there’s not a person that can compete with me – I just got to get in the game.”

Rockhold also has experience with sparring with one of Strickland’s biggest rivals, current UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, and it’s safe to say that he’s is a fan of the South African.

“Dricus is more of a man, so that’s what it comes down to with Sean.”

Yet given that Strickland teased that he could opt to sit out and wait for another shot at the 185lb belt, it’s no surprise that Rockhold had some choice words for how that highly anticipated rematch could eventually play out.

“I can fight with the best and I’ve seen what Dricus did to him, and I know how tough Dricus is, Dricus is a tough m********, he’s good everywhere and relentless.”

Dricus du Plessis is expected to defend his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya later this year, although that has yet to be officially confirmed by the UFC.