Nick Rodriguez Outworks Luke Rockhold In A Grueling Grappling Bout
Luke Rockhold participated at his grappling debut in Polaris promotion last night, where he squared off against the ADCC silver medalist Nick Rodriguez in a no-gi catchweight bout (104.3 kg).
After 15 minutes of sweeps, transitions, and submission attempts, there was no winner, so judges had to pick one fighter, and Nick Rodriguez’s hand was raised. But Luke Rockhold suffered a really nasty cut in the early stages of the match after a head-to-head collision. Check the highlights below:
Luke has a decent cut. Not good, pic.twitter.com/CWXev2uEEl
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 30, 2019
"Someone get me some vaseline." -Former @ufc middleweight champion, @LukeRockhold 👊#Polaris12 #UFCFIGHTPASS pic.twitter.com/jOPvCKZr0j
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 30, 2019
HUGE takedown for Nicky Rod! #Polaris12 #UFCFIGHTPASS pic.twitter.com/OhPhvYHupg
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 30, 2019
Nicky Rod gettin' wild! 💥 #Polaris12 #UFCFIGHTPASS pic.twitter.com/fojZbhO86r
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 30, 2019
After the fight, the former UFC and Strikeforce 185-pound champ Luke Rockhold credited Rodriguez for his performance and apologized for the lack of activity. (h/t MMAFighting)
“I’m no stranger, I can play the bull or I can play the matador,” Luke said. “I didn’t have enough to keep up with him. Credit to him, the kid’s tough. I thought he would shoot more, I thought I could play more of a different game.”
“I didn’t realize it would just be stuck on the feet and the kind of push-pull, sorry about that, but I wanted a little more action. I tried to bait, I tried to give it, but the man did his homework. He comes from a good team, they know what to avoid and where to attack, so credit to him.”
UFC Welterweight Octagon warrior, known for his amazing will to fight anybody, Gilbert “Durinho” Burns, dropped decision to Norway’s Tommy Langaker in a catchweight gi bout (80 kg).
The @ufc welterweight and @ibjjf world champion @GilbertDurinho🇧🇷 survives the attack from Gi specialist Tommy Langaker! #Polaris12 #UFCFIGHTPASS pic.twitter.com/3Sleg69uSZ
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 30, 2019
As action-packed as advertised..! ⚡️ @GilbertDurinho🇧🇷 #Polaris12
The @ibjjf world champion Tommy Langaker shows off some high-level work! @PolarisProEvent pic.twitter.com/YRTTvC5hLY
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 30, 2019
But the Brazilian’s statement after the battle was fabulous – “I never lose, I always learn”.
"I never lose, I always learn. Today, I learned a lot." –@GilbertDurinho🇧🇷#Polaris12 #UFCFIGHTPASS pic.twitter.com/Hn59ke4dLL
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 30, 2019
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