Despite UFC challenge, Rockhold says he's comfortable with Strikeforce options

For Strikeforce champions, it's becoming an increasingly common practice: Win a fight, call out the UFC roster.

And so it was for Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold (9-1 MMA, 8-0 SF), who moments after scoring a first-round TKO over Keith Jardine at Saturday's "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine" event challenged the UFC's best fighters to a showdown.

But with the adrenaline worn off and Rockhold under scrutiny from the media at the evening's post-event press conference, the champ admitted there are still a few worthy challenges in his current promotion.

"I don't really call out specific opponents," Rockhold said. "I just want to fight the best. Whatever. It's up to Strikeforce."

It's hard to blame Rockhold for asking for a UFC opponent. Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez did the same thing following a December win, and the 2011 migration of Strikeforce champions Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem to the UFC would seem to suggest others could do the same.

But UFC president Dana White and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker contend the two promotions will be run as separate entities, putting the kibosh on more Strikeforce departures.

Rockhold insisted that's OK with him.

"If that's the plan, that's the plan," Rockhold told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I'll make the most of what we've got here. Me and Tim Kennedy was supposed to happen quite a few times, and it doesn't seem to come to happening.

"I always look to bigger and better things, and if the UFC wants to bring in some top contenders, I'm more than welcome to welcome them in our hexagon, like Gilbert would say."

As for his performance on Saturday night, Rockhold said things went pretty much as planned. The champ said he was prepared to take the fight to the floor if needed, but things worked out on the feet, so he decided to keep it standing.

"It played out like I thought it would," Rockhold said. "I thought I could counter with that right hook when he came forward. He's a little slow with that overhand right. I started connecting, and I started getting confident. I didn't feel the leg kicks that I was kind of checking

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