Luke Rockhold responds to Vitor Belfort: 'Powder on my butt is a lot better than steroids in it'

Following Michael Bisping's win in Macau, where he battered and bloodied up Cung Le for 4 rounds, the smack talk between him and Luke Rockhold has escalated. The Brit immediately called out Rockhold just moments after his victory, and Rockhold upped the ante right after.

Rockhold offered a purse bet where if he wins in the 1st round, they switch purses, and if Bisping survives the opening stanza, he gets Luke's entire purse. According to Rockhold though, Bisping isn't biting on the bet even if he only has to get past 5 minutes for the extra cash.

Macau Photos: Bisping leaves Le in bloody mess | Rockhold and Freddie Roach converse cageside

He feels his only chance of 'shutting Bisping's mouth' is now that he had this main event win over Le, so Rockhold is looking to take advantage of the opportunity. There were also reports of a fight against Lyoto Machida being in the works, making those the two likely scenarios for the Top 5 middleweight. When asked which fight he would like given the perfect scenario though, Rockhold had a different opponent in mind.

"Vitor Belfort, the #1 ranked guy in the world," Rockhold said about the top contender currently booked to face Chris Weidman, "There's nobody else I would rather fight. Vitor Belfort is the guy."

Rockhold faced Belfort in 2013, and the two fighters have been trading barbs since.

"That playboy is still in shock from the kick. He’s in shock," Belfort said about Rockhold, "A lot of guys they are just mama’s boys with powder in their butts."

While in Macau as a special guest, Rockhold responded to these statements, and spoke about the real reason he despises fighters such as Belfort.

"At least I don't have steroids in my butt. That's pretty much what I got to say about Vitor. Powder on my butt is a lot better than steroids in it," Rockhold retorts as he spoke to BloodyElbow.com. "I'm not a cheater and Vitor has been caught multiple times so I've got no respect for him."

"His fans that want to say that I'm bitching, well I'm not complaining because I lost. I think the loss is the best thing that ever happened to me," he said. "It is what it is, but it's the fact that the got caught for steroids after, that's the issue. If you didn't get caught for steroids, I wouldn't be talking, but he did."

There have been a number of PED test failures in recent months, and figures such as Georges St-Pierre have reiterated that he will not come back to the sport without independent testing. Mark Bocek has also cited 90% of fighters being on banned substances as his reason for his retirement.

"Oh it's bad. It's bad," Rockhold said when asked if he believed Bocek's 90% estimate. "That's (also) why Brian Stann left. It's very bad. I think the TRT outlawing is really going to help, because people use the TRT to mask their steroid use. When guys are using every steroid known to man, and they have scientists working for them, and then they use that TRT to get to a certain level in the past. It's a way for these guys to cheat."

"Guys are still cheating, but we'll see how it ends up. I would love this sport to get blood tested. That's the only way to really find these guys too who are using HGH and all these other things. I'm not a fan of cheaters, straight up, and their fans can go..." Rockhold paused, "Well, you know."

"I'm not a big fan of people who like cheaters and don't have respect for the sport. If you don't like a clean sport and call yourself a fan, I feel bad for you."

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