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Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has continued his public criticism of the UFC’s new ownership based on recent matchmaking decisions, saying the upcoming Michael Lisping-Georges St-Pierre fight “100 percent cheapens the belt.”

Rockhold (15-3) spoke with ESPN over the weekend at UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York, revealing that he accepted an offer to fight Anderson Silva on June 3, although Silva’s camp later revealed they are looking at other options. Silva’s original UFC 212 opponent, Kelvin Gastelum, was pulled due to a possible doping violation. 

After losing his title to Bisping last June by upset knockout in their rematch at UFC 199, Rockhold wasn’t given the option of a third fight. Instead, the 38-year-old Bisping was first allowed to defend his title first in a rematch with 46-year-old Dan Henderson last fall and now in a super fight against former welterweight champion St-Pierre, who is returning from a three-plus year retirement. 

Rockhold, 32, is one of many top-rated middleweights that has been forced to wait in line and is none too pleased with new UFC owner WME-IMG, which purchased the company for a reported $4 billion.

“I understand what they’re doing, trying to sell pay-per-views to pay off a $4 billion debt, but this is not the fight to make,” Rockhold said. “What’s the point of fighting the best guys in the world if you’re not going anywhere? I’ll only take a fight that gets me somewhere and gets me excited.”

Rockhold pulled out of a December rematch with fellow top middleweight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza due to a knee injury, which Souza later claimed wasn’t legit. 

In recent weeks, Rockhold has joined the likes of Yoel Romero in asking for an interim title to be on the line for any fight offered to him. Romero made the same offer publicly to Silva for UFC 212 but was turned down. UFC president Dana White said the company will not create an interim title because Bisping is actively defending his championship. 

“Really, you almost have to put an interim title on the line to guarantee a title shot,” Rockhold said. “The interim title is basically just a guarantee that you get a title shot and the money behind it. If they want to put an interim belt on the line, I’ll go fight [Romero] right now.”

Rockhold isn’t the only fighter who has spoken out about the UFC’s recent division, which have included flooding the market with interim titles and booking fights between big-name opponents which don’t properly reflect the company’s own rankings system. 

Until the UFC’s new ownership can pay back its reported debt in acquiring the company, more of the same will likely be the status quo. 

“It sucks because they are punishing MMA and punishing this division,” Rockhold said. “Nobody wants to see Michael Bisping as champion. Make him fight and go back to what built this company: The best fight the best.”

While the UFC has publicly announced a Bisping-St-Pierre bout for later this year, no date has been confirmed.