Luke Rockhold Granted UFC Release, Ends Short-Lived Retirement

Luke
Rockhold
has walked back the
retirement announcement
he made following a loss at UFC 278
this past August.

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During an appearance on “The MMA Hour,” the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight
champion announced that he has entered free agency and is ready to
resume his combat sports career. Rockhold revealed that he had
multiple fights remaining on his UFC contract, but an amicable
relationship with chief business officer Hunter
Campbell
resulted in him being released from that deal.

“Me and Dana [White)]always haven’t seen eye-to-eye, and we’ve had
our differences, but I’ve been through some injuries and some
things, and I’ve done my thing,” Rockhold said. “I asked for a
release. I asked for my freedom to be able to go and do things
elsewhere. And I was granted that.

“Me and Hunter – I’ve paid my dues, and he granted me my wish to be
able to go have freedom, to be able to box, to go fight elsewhere.
There’s a lot of different avenues. You’ve seen what Nate Diaz and
Francis [Ngannou] are doing. There’s interesting, innovative
companies coming up, and there’s a lot of things to correct in this
world.”

Though nothing is set in stone, Rockhold expressed interest in MMA
promotions Bellator, PFL, and One Championship. He also mentioned
boxing as a possibility.

“I need a new setting,” Rockhold said. “I need a new challenge. …
You get burned out in the game when you’ve done so much, and you
need new obstacles.”

Rockhold returned from a three-year hiatus at UFC 278, where he
lost a unanimous decision to Paulo Costa
in a sometimes bizarre bout at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on
Aug. 20.

“I’ve been through so much the last few years,” Rockhold said a his
post-fight interview. “I f—king … thank you, fighting. Thank you,
UFC. Thank you, Joe [Rogan]. I f—-king can’t do this s—t any more.
I gave it my all. I just didn’t … I’m f—ing old.”

The 38-year-old Californian has lost four of his last five bouts,
with three of those defeats coming via knockout or technical
knockout. At his peak, Rockhold was one of the top middleweights in
the sport, earning victories over the likes of Chris
Weidman
, Lyoto
Machida
, Michael
Bisping
, Tim Kennedy
and Ronaldo
Souza
. The longtime American Kickboxing Academy standout
believes the fresh start will be rejuvenating for him.

“I feel like I’m just getting better,” he said, “I feel like I’m
finding my tempo, and it feels good.”

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