Getty Luke Rockhold
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was roasted by Sean Strickland after he hinted at returning to fighting.
Rockhold announced his retirement from the sport after his all-out war with Paulo Costa at UFC 278 in August. After dropping a unanimous decision to Costa, Rockhold told Joe Rogan inside the Octagon that he couldn’t “do this s*** anymore” and that he was “f****** old.”
Well, fast forward a few months, and immediately after Israel Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Alex Pereira at UFC 281 on November 12, Rockhold, 38, tweeted: “I’ll be back.”
When Strickland was asked by “The Schmo” about Rockhold’s potential comeback, Strickland went off on the man he was once scheduled to fight.
“God, Luke Rockhold is such a f*****g f****t,” Strickland said.
Rockhold and Strickland were set to battle at UFC 268 in New York City last year, but Rockhold pulled out of the fight with an injury. Ahead of the match, the two took aim at each other through the media several times, like when Rockhold called Strickland a “f****** nobody” and Strickland fired back by saying he’d “probably take a misdemeanor charge just to f****** smack” Rockhold.
“Luke Rockhold — the moment that man vanishes from MMA [it’s] going to be a better place,” Strickland continued. “The man has no f****** chin.”
“Luke Rockhold is everything that is f****** wrong with the world. That man every day looks in the mirror and probably jerks off to his reflection. Luke Rockhold — just f****** vanish. Go away, bro. No one wants to hear your s***. Move on.”
Strickland Said He Was ‘Glad’ Rockhold Retired From Mixed Martial Arts
The Schmo had gotten Strickland’s reaction to Rockhold’s retirement a few days after the American announced it. And unsurprisingly, Strickland didn’t congratulate Rockhold on a legendary career.
“I’m actually glad that he retired, man,” Strickland said. “You will not meet a human being that meets Luke Rockhold and says, ‘Man, this is a solid guy. I want to go hang out with him.’ Luke Rockhold is the definition of what an uptight c*** is. And I’m glad that I do not have to hear his name or see him in the MMA community.”
Rockhold retired from mixed martial arts with a professional record of 16-6, which includes six wins via KO/TKO and eight by submission. Besides winning the UFC middleweight strap in 2015, Rockhold was the final Strikeforce 185-pound champion.
He boasts wins over the likes of Michael Bisping, Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Tim Kennedy, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and David Branch.
Strickland Is Training for His Bounce-Back Fight Against Jared Cannonier
Strickland will look to get back on the winning track on December 17 when he headlines a Fight Night event against Jared Cannonier at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Both middleweights last competed at UFC 276 in July, and each man left the T-Mobile Arena with a defeat. For Strickland, he was knocked out by Pereira in the first round, which snapped the American’s six-fight win streak.
Cannonier competed that night against Adesanya for the strap. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
With both men sitting in the division’s top 10, their five-round contest will be an important victory to earn if they hope to work their way back up the ladder.