Luke
Rockhold’s return to mixed martial arts proved to be short
lived.
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The former UFC and Strikefore middleweight champion announced his
retirement following a unanimous decision defeat to Paulo Costa
in the UFC
278 co-main event at Vinvint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, on
Saturday night.
“I’ve been through so much the last few years,” Rockhold said in
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.”
Rockhold was bloodied and battered in his matchup with Costa, and
his body language was concerning on multiple occasions. Still, the
longtime American Kickboxing Academy product had his moments, as he
landed multiple body kicks and tagged Costa with a hard left hand
in the third round. He ended the fight by reversing out of a
rear-naked choke and rubbing his bloody face all over Costa from
top position. It was Rockhold’s first appearance since July
2019.
The 37-year-old Californian exits the sport with a 16-6 career
record. He won nine consecutive fights under the Strikeforce
banner, capturing 185-pound gold with a five-round verdict against
Ronaldo
Souza and defending the crown with triumphs over Keith
Jardine and Tim Kennedy.
His UFC tenure included victories over the likes of Michael
Bisping, Lyoto
Machida and Chris
Weidman, the last of which earned him another championship
belt. He relinquished the crown in a shocking upset loss to Bisping
in their rematch at UFC 199, the start of a stretch in which he
lost four of his final five fights.
This moment between @dc_mma and
@LukeRockhold
🥲
#UFC278(via @marcraimondi)
pic.twitter.com/ziHxCQbet2— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
August 21, 2022