UFC: Luke Rockhold Considers A Comeback, Immediately Gets Called Out

Images of Luke Rockhold knocked unconscious have become a common sight in the meme-universe of the mixed martial arts world. At UFC 221, Luke suffered a devastating knockout (and curious post-brawl embrace) from Yoel Romero. In his next outing at UFC 239, the Ralph Lauren model had his jaw broken by a monstrous left hook from Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239.

This result left many to assume that the former UFC middleweight champion’s fighting days were behind him. Speaking to MMA UK however, Rockhold said he’s considering a comeback.

“I’m getting healthier and I might be getting an itch,” he explained. “I’ve just got to get healthy. It’s getting healthy and getting everything right and just taking some time off. I’ve been pushing it so hard for 15 years in this sport. It’s nice to have a break, mentally it’s freeing. Get focused on some other things I can do and there’s a lot to maintain and keep up with.”

As far as matchups are concerned, Rockhold sees many fitting opponents.

“If Anderson [Silva] is still interested and seemingly he is, maybe, you never know. [Chris] Weidman’s got a fight coming up. If something, he comes out of that well, you never know. There’s options.”

But Jimi Manuwa has gone on record and called Luke out in a recent one-word tweet that simply read: “Luke?”

Manuwa, who owns one of the best left hooks in the game, even offered to take the fight to the ground after fans pleaded (somewhat presciently) for Jimi to look elsewhere given Rockhold’s multiple and violent knockouts. The matchup makes sense given that the gap in boxing prowess between the two is somewhat matched by the gap in grappling ability.

But whoever the opponent, Rockhold is confident his comeback will be staged for the right reasons and is not a publicity stunt.

“That’s why I just kept my mouth shut [about returning]” Luke said of his potential comeback. “People just do it to seek attention. I’m not trying to like make some big statement, make attention about it when I’m not sure about it.”

Though he hasn’t responded (yet) to Manuwa’s call out, Rockhold notes he is keeping his eye on the fight game to assess the likelihood of another fight.

“We’ll see how the UFC and everyone comes out of this coronavirus epidemic because it’s going to bury a lot of companies…I’m curious to see how these fights come to be.”

Would you like to see Luke Rockhold fight again? And if so, what are your thoughts on a matchup with Jimi Manuwa?


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