We might not have seen the last of Luke Rockhold.
The former UFC Middleweight Champion would hang up the gloves following a decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 278. Fast forward a few weeks and a recovering Rockhold has no regrets about announcing his retirement from MMA. But, that could change down the line.
“Sometimes I struggle back and forth thinking how I want to approach this, but too many people hide behind their words, not how they really feel,” Rockhold said in a video.
“But, I want to retire. I want to work on life like I did a f*cking fraction of on my break, but I want to get my f*cking body together, get my health together. Health is wealth, ultimately, and my body is f*cking deteriorating and a fight doesn’t help that.”
If you know MMA, you know the retired don’t stay retired for long. There’s always an itch to get back inside the cage. For the 37 year-old Rockhold, he’s not ruling out a return to fighting.
“I’ll never close the door (on MMA),” Rockhold added. “Once I get my health fully back, and I get my body where I want, and I start performing and not hurting myself, (then) maybe, maybe, maybe, I’ll make another run at this thing – one, two, three years down the line.
“I honestly feel like I’m only getting better. The way I’m treating my body and changing the game.”
Aside from contributing to a healthier lifestyle, mushrooms have played a significant role in rejuvenating the 37-year-old for his return to the Octagon.
In the last three fights, Rockhold has lost to Jan Blachowicz, Paulo Costa, and Yoel Romero. If Rockhold is released from the promotion for whatever reason, it is always possible that he could be signed by ONE Championship, Bellator MMA, or the Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Rockhold has had a strained relationship with White, which makes it difficult to know whether the promotion would let him go that easily.
Do you think Luke Rockhold will un-retire at some point?
