UFC middleweight Luke Rockhold has pulled off an incredible promotional stunt.
The former champion has found a creative way to announce his fight. Coming off two consecutive losses since 2018, Rockhold will be looking to get back to winning ways in his next fight. Having also been knocked out in his most recent two contests, the 37-year-old will be returning to action after three years.
Luke Rockhold accepts fight against Paulo Costa
In an interview with Brett Okamoto for ESPN, Luke Rockhold agreed to fight Paulo Costa. Rockhold signed the contract live during the interview to solidify his intentions. The 37-year-old criticized ‘Borrachinha‘ as a negative representation of the sport. Both athletes have been going back and forth online in a beef that gets hotter with each day.
Rockhold revealed that Costa refused to consider punishments for not making weight. He believes Costa to be at a disadvantage from a mental aspect.
“He didn’t want to agree to the penalties of missing weight but he wanted the fight at 185”
“They miss weight to get advantages. I think certain people because they are mentally weak, they want to get advantage some other way”
Rockhold wants to fight Israel
Having not competed since his last outing against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239, Rockhold’s return may seem confusing. During the same chat, he shared his intentions of fighting for the title. He stated his desire to fight the current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and backed himself to take the promotional gold again.
“I want to show that I can fight at 185 and be a challenger for the belt. That’s the only reason I’m here. That’s the only reason I’m coming back, because I want to fight Israel, cos I want to fight for the championship”
“I know I can. I’ve pushed my body I’ve tested my body. I got it. I still f**king got it.”
A title run may be at a distance for the veteran. If he’s able to secure a win over Costa, he will have a stronger case to make for being in the mix for title contention.
