Luke Rockhold News

Chris Taylor - March 11, 2018

Luke Rockhold responds to Yoel Romero’s post-fight antics at UFC 221 Yoel Romero scored a brutal second-round knockout victory over former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in the headliner of last month’s UFC 221 event in Perth, Australia.

Justin Golightly - March 10, 2018

Ever since Luke Rockhold teased that he was going to be moving up to the light heavyweight division, there has been one man waiting to welcome him to the division. Alexander Gustafsson was quick to stand in the doorway to Rockhold’s entrance into the new weight class. The former UFC middleweight champion is happy to oblige Gustafsson whenever they can step into the Octagon, but it looks like he already landed a pretty big blow. @LukeRockhold . Heard u coming for me.. Can’t ask for more .chinny as middle weight. KO’d as a LHW. Fool yourself to believe its the weight cut.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold’s days in his division are numbered. He has been very vocal about his imminent move to light heavyweight, as his friend and teammate Daniel Cormier moves up to heavyweight before he ends his career. As vocal as he’s been about going to 205, one man has been just as talkative about welcoming him to the division: Alexander Gustafsson. Well, be careful what you wish for, because he’s coming for that ass. “I don’t see me coming back [to middleweight], man. The weight cut is too much on me. As you get older, your bones get bigger. The last couple cuts have been pretty brutal on me. I had trouble regulating my body temperature and all that shit. It’s not fun. It’s not a fun cut anymore. I’m a different fighter at 205-pounds. That weight cut is taking a lot out of me. We had to make weight and stress out through the staging process like the old days [at UFC 221].

Drake Riggs - March 7, 2018

A trilogy fight between former UFC middleweight champions, Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping isn’t even official and the two are talking like it is. And who knows, it very well may be some time soon. Both guys obviously have interest in it and it’s obviously one that Rockhold, who lost in their last encounter, would love to get back. And Rockhold doesn’t happen to be lacking any confidence when it comes to another fight with “the Count”. When speaking with FloCombat recently, he went so far as to say he would even retire if he were to lose to Bisping again.

Tom Taylor - March 6, 2018

With respect to potential opponents for the yet-unscheduled retirement fight of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, a number of names have been mentioned, from Rashad Evans, to Vitor Belfort, to Lyoto Machida. Now, though, it’s looking like Bisping’s last – and probably final – challenge will come in the form of Luke Rockhold. Bisping has previously expressed interest in a tie-breaking trilogy fight with Rockhold, and on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Rockhold revealed his mutual interest in the bout.

Justin Golightly - March 3, 2018

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold can add another notch on his long list of accomplishments. While he isn’t a stranger to being featured on magazine covers and doing some photo shoots thanks to his Soul Artist Management, this latest one blows them all out of the water. Rockhold is now the face of Polo Blue cologne by Ralph Lauren. “I’m a big believer in just living outside your comfort zone. You find out so much more about yourself when you push yourself further in life. You have to take risks to get rewards. Nobody achieves anything great in life without putting themselves out there. Press and push further and you’ll achieve amazing things in life.”

Tom Taylor - February 27, 2018

Over the last few weeks, there’s been widespread debate as to who former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping should fight in his yet unscheduled retirement fight. For a time it sounded as though he might retire opposite a fellow legend in Vitor Belfort or Rashad Evans. Bisping also eyed a retirement bout opposite former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

Justin Golightly - February 23, 2018

The next move for Luke Rockhold is light heavyweight. It’s something he’s been vocal about even before UFC 211, where he suffered a loss to Yoel Romero. He’s since doubled down on the move and had already been called out by Alexander Gustafsson, which is fight Rockhold is very interested in. Still, some fans doubt his commitment or decision to move up, but the former UFC middleweight champion states that there is only one thing to keep him at 185 and that’s only for one fight: Michael Bisping. “I’m not too excited about making that weight cut again. I just don’t feel nearly as strong, powerful, quick. It takes a lot out of me. Pretty much [Michael] Bisping is the only reason I would torture myself to get back there. That’s a loss that doesn’t sit well with me. I know the UFC is very interested in that fight and will pursue it on their end. If he doesn’t accept it, there’s no reason for me to stay at 185. Mr. [Alexander] Gustafsson has reached out, opened his mouth, and that’s a fight that interests me — very much so. I like that match-up. I like every match-up at 205. There’s a lot of interesting things there and I’m not coming to play around.”

Justin Golightly - February 20, 2018

It has been nearly 10 days since Yoel Romero finished Luke Rockhold with an uppercut so brutal that we’re still talking about it. We’re also still talking about the kiss he landed on Rockhold’s cheek as well at UFC 221. Originally it was thought that it was nothing more than a sportsmanlike gesture, but Romero had the bible on his mind as he called Rockhold a brother and put his lips on his cheek. He was thinking of Judas, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss after The Last Supper. The Soldier of God flipped the allegory in the Octagon that night when he pecked Luke Rockhold, then told the story of their fall on Monday. “Before USADA, every time when [Luke Rockhold] saw me […] he’d say, ‘Hey, what’s up, my man? You want to go out with me? I need a party.’ I’d say, okay, come on, let’s go, no problem. When I [was hanging out] with him, he was like a friend. […] When I had this problem with USADA, he and Michael Bisping is the two guys who were talking a lot of [trash] about me. Ok, Bisping is Bisping. I don’t have a relationship with this guy, but with [Rockhold] — You talk like this against me? But God is good. Maybe he was thinking, ‘Ok, this guy is 39-years old. Minimum two years out [with a suspension], he’s 41. Bye, bye Yoel.’ But God is good every time. I’m still here. That’s why the UFC call me and I say, ‘Yes, I want the fight’ and I tried to get down my current weight.”

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

After an awesome battle with Luke Rockhold and an even more incredible finish, the worry was that Yoel Romero had a broken leg coming out of the fight at UFC 221. However, the good news is that it is just a deep bruise that is expected to heal rather quickly, which puts Romero back to work on his road to gold. After already being punished for missing weight, he’s expected to face Robert Whittaker later this year. Romero has said he’d like the bout to take place in Miami, but manager Malki Kawa just said UFC 225 in Chicago may be a possibility. “[Yoel Romero] almost pulled out of the fight. The man re-hydrated, went to sleep the next morning, and still he wasn’t feeling the best. He even told me, ‘I’m not 100-percent.’ He could have fooled me. Nobody that I know wants to lose $100,000 over three pounds. The man wasn’t trying to do that. He tried, and he couldn’t do it. He paid the penalty.”

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

Over the weekend, the UFC debuted in Perth, Western Australia with UFC 221. In the main event of this card, a fearsome Yoel Romero took out former champion Luke Rockhold with a brutal barrage of third-round punches. Shortly after the referee waved off the fight, Romero cornered Rockhold for a brief post-fight embrace – and a quick peck on the cheek that was promptly immortalized as an MMA meme.

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

With Daniel Cormier moving up to heavyweight for his superfight with Stipe Miocic before his retirement, it left room for Luke Rockhold to make his move. Before his loss to Yoel Romero, he opened up about how he’s getting older and weight cuts are getting harder. He decided going up to light heavyweight was ‘imminent’. However, two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson warns Rockhold that he may want to re-think his division and offered a stern warning to the former middleweight champ. “Luke Rockhold, your teammate is holding my division hostage and you think there are only easy fights at light heavyweight? If you think [Yoel] Romero hits hard, then wait till you come to the big boys. I want Daniel Cormier, and knocking you out will keep me warm in the meantime. Beware of coming up in weight because I will be standing at the front door waiting.”— Alexander Gustafsson via his official Instagram.

Chris Taylor - February 10, 2018

UFC 221 Results: Luke Rockhold vs Yoel Romero A middleweight tilt between Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero served as the main event of tonight’s UFC 221 pay-per-view event in Perth, Australia.

Justin Golightly - February 10, 2018

Here’s our interview with @LukeRockhold, and he’s clearly feeling some type of way about @YoelRomeroMMA missing weight… #UFC221 https://t.co/G5aQ44nScp — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 10, 2018

Justin Golightly - February 10, 2018

While most of us slept, all hell was breaking loose. Some of you may have been up to see that Yoel Romero initially missed weight, stepping to the scale at 188 pounds for his 185 pound interim title fight with Luke Rockhold. Since Australia didn’t perform the normal early morning weigh-ins, the evening ceremonial weigh-ins were the first time the fighters would be stepping on the scale. Romero would have two hours to be on weight or it would put the fight in jeopardy. His second and last attempt late last night wasn’t much better than the first. He weighed in at 187.7 pounds and chaos reigned. https://t.co/wBTcp3hOfI

Justin Golightly - February 9, 2018

One of the best middleweight fights anyone could ever put together goes down on Saturday at UFC 221, but Luke Rockhold’s hyped match-up with Yoel Romero may take a backseat to the knowledge Rockhold recently dropped. With Daniel Cormier ready to retire and Father Time working on the middleweight contender’s body, Luke Rockhold is going to be switching weight classes sooner rather than later. That’s right, Rockhold is moving up to light heavyweight. “[The weight cut] never gets any easier. I’m getting older and my bones are getting thicker and it gets harder to get down to this weight. Having this open workout on a Friday, it’s tough, but I feel good. I’ve got a great team around me with [George] Lockhart and [Dan] Leith, they’ve got my nutrition down to a science. I’m ahead of schedule this time around and I’ll be fine, but 205 [pounds] is imminent. [Daniel Cormier is] moving up to heavyweight. He’s not coming back, so I’ll be up there soon. Yes, I’ve mentioned that [to him] many times [that I’m moving to light heavyweight]. It’s imminent. I’ll be up there soon.” – Luke Rockhold after the UFC 221 open workouts.

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

The UFC’s middleweight division has been a mess that no one has been able to clean up, but Luke Rockhold think it may be its white knight. From Michael Bisping to Georges St-Pierre, then to Robert Whittaker, now an interim title created due to his laundry list of ailments, it’s hard to keep track of the gold belt. No matter what though, Rockhold maintains that if he takes out Romero this weekend in emphatic fashion, that he won’t be just an interim champ, but you can go ahead and call him the real deal. “Slight difference but this was bound to happen one way or the other. [Robert] Whittaker would have been first, Yoel [Romero] would’ve been second. Yoel’s first, so Whittaker will be second. I’m up for the task. I’m not lacking in any way. I’m prepared to fight the best guys in the world. It’s a shame it’s not gonna be for the undisputed title but Whittaker beat Yoel to be the interim champion. I’m gonna beat Yoel to be the interim champion. It’s a matter of who did it better is gonna be the real champion at the end of this thing. So that’s the way I see it.”

Drake Riggs - February 6, 2018

If you’re a fan of Bellator, then you know exactly who Jimmy Smith is. Many have called him “Bellator’s Joe Rogan”, but they can’t call him that anymore! Bellator’s longtime color commentator, Smith recently parted ways with the organization that he was the voice of. He now finds himself with yep…you guessed it, the UFC. At UFC 221 in Perth, Australia this Saturday, Smith will make his UFC commentary debut and in the main event is a big middleweight matchup between Yoel Romero and the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. The winner takes with them the interim title which inevitably leads to a meeting with the undisputed champion, Robert Whittaker.