Anthony Smith loved what he saw out of Luke Rockhold in his post-fight speech at UFC 278.
Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) lost an entertaining bout to Paulo Costa this past Saturday in Salt Lake City and decided to retire after the hard-fought battle. An emotional Rockhold was brought to tears – a contrast from his brash attitude during fight week in which he trash-talked Costa and took aim at the UFC over fighter pay.
“I’ve been through so much the last few years,” Rockhold said. “I f*cking … thank you, fighting. Thank you, UFC. Thank you, Joe (Rogan). I f*cking can’t do this sh*t anymore. I gave it my all. I just didn’t … I’m f*cking old.”
Smith, who’s had issues with Rockhold in the past, wonders where this version of the former champion was all along, a version he thinks would have resonated with fans.
“It was raw. It was so raw,” Smith told Michael Bisping on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “Where was this f*cking guy 10 years ago? He’d be a f*cking superstar. I can get behind that guy. That guy who’s like, ‘I’m f*cking old,’ I’m with you. I can get behind that guy.”
Rockhold was visibly exhausted throughout his back-and-forth war with Costa. It was his first fight in more than three years, and he took some heavy damage from the Brazilian powerhouse. However, Rockhold was able to go the distance for the first time in a loss, and Smith lauds him for the heart he showed.
“I see Luke Rockhold quitting, I’m watching him look for the door,” Smith said. “He’s looking for a way out and then decided not to take it, and that happened more than twice. It happened more than three times where he decided I don’t f*cking want to be here anymore and on his way to quitting, turned around before he got there and battled his way back into it. Personally, Luke and I don’t like each other.
“But I can respect being exhausted, being in a really hard fight with a really heavy hitter, with a guy who’s walking you down, and you’re so f*cking tired you can’t even breathe, and you got your nose splashed all the way across your face, you can barely stand up but still mustering the ability to battle back and stay in there and kind of give the fans a treat they didn’t deserve, because you should have been finished a long time ago.”
