Luke Rockhold Open To Grappling Georges St-Pierre, Thinks He's 'Too Big & Too Good For Him'

Former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre is currently gearing up his return to competition, and he's not short on options when it comes to an opponent.

St-Pierre, who reached the mountaintops of both the welterweight and middleweight divisions, hasn't competed since his 185-pound title win back in 2017. That ultimately ended up being a one-and-done outing at the higher weight, with the Canadian later announcing his retirement and focusing on other ventures.

As it turns out, however, that won't mark the last time that fans see "Rush" in combat sports competition. Last month, it was announced that the 42-year-old will make his return this December to compete at a UFC Fight Pass Invitational grappling event. 

With no opponent confirmed, a number of potential foes quickly emerged. While St-Pierre himself named the likes of Colby Covington and the Diaz brothers, names such as Demian Maia have also emerged as possibilities.

Now, we can add another prominent mixed martial artist to that list, and a former champion at that.

Rockhold Willing To Go For GSP's Neck

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, ex-UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold discussed his career's current standing and assessed his next step.

With an arm injury preventing a return to the cage or ring anytime soon, the former Strikeforce standout expressed interested in a grappling bout. And when alerted to St-Pierre's ongoing opponent search, the Californian threw his name in the hat, but on one condition...

"Georges St-Pierre? If Georges St-Pierre wants to go, I'd go with Georges in a heartbeat," Rockhold said. "But, if he was smart, he probably (would) not. Yeah, I'm too big and too good for him, sure.

"And I'm not going down below 185 pounds. Really, grappling, I wouldn't go down 190," Rockhold continued. "If Georges wants to go, I'll meet him at 190 pounds any day of the week. I'd love to do it... I’ll go straight for your neck. Straight at you. I don’t hold back or any way of fighting. I’m going to come for you."

Rockhold departed the UFC in 2022 following his final fight against Paulo Costa, which he lost via unanimous decision. Any talk of a permanent combat sports retirement was short-lived, with the veteran quickly committing to a comeback.

That came in the form of bare-knuckle boxing, with Rockhold sharing the BKFC ring with fellow ex-UFC athlete Mike Perry this past April. "Platinum" got the better of the 38-year-old, stopping him in the second round.

The former UFC champ was quick to shut down any possible sophomore outing in bare-knuckle boxing, outlining his intention to focus on other ventures.

Perhaps that will come in the form of meeting GSP on the mats.