Luke Rockhold is retired, for now.
The former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion remains adamant about taking a step back from the sport, but he can’t guarantee it to be a permanent move. Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) indicated he was done with the sport last month following a decision loss to Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 278. A few weeks later, Rockhold still holds similar feelings towards his fighting career, but leaves the door open for a return if the stars align.
“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 on Instagram Friday. “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.
“So, I want to get my body back, but I’ll never close the door (on MMA). 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.”
Ahead of his past performance at UFC 278. Rockhold was coming off a three-year break from competition. The 37-year-old opened up about living a cleaner lifestyle and the use of mushrooms, as the main reasons for feeling reinvigorated for a return.
“Take out alcohol out of your life, for the most part, considerably,” Rockhold said. “At least for the f*cking heavier sh*t, and see how far your life goes. Maybe try some mushrooms. Because it f*cking worked for me. It made me more motivated to do what I think I should be doing. What I know I should be doing. And yeah, I’m up f*cking whatever you want, four pills, four squares, whatever the f*ck you call it. I just eat it. Hydration, filtration, circulation. F*ck, you. I’m out.”
