Luke Rockhold says Dana White never gave him “a f***ing chance from the moment I entered the UFC”
This past weekend at UFC 278 saw former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold return following a near three-year layoff from active competition, only to call it an end to his career following his loss to Paulo Costa. Rockhold and Costa had a very entertaining, yet strange, fight in their matchup, which was also highlighted by the former champion not holding back his thoughts on his opponent or the UFC as a promotion.
Despite the loss and some harsh words from Rockhold in the week leading up to the event, UFC President Dana White wouldn’t say anything bad about the former champion, saying he respects him during the UFC 278 post-fight press conference. Unfortunately, Luke Rockhold had some thoughts on White’s feelings towards him since he began his career with the promotion in 2013.
During an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Luke Rockhold pulled back the curtain on his thoughts surrounding his relationship with the UFC President. Upon entering the UFC in 2013 as the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, Rockhold said he felt that from the moment he joined the UFC, Dana White didn’t give him a chance.
Luke Rockhold explains why he's mad at Dana White:
"From the moment I came into the UFC, he never gave me a f****** chance… He f***** me from the start and it took me 16, 17 years, and a fight like that, to earn my respect."
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— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) August 24, 2022
“It’s f**ked up to say, why do you think I’m mad at Dana [White]? Cause, Dana never gave me a chance. From the moment I came into the UFC, he never gave me a f**king chance. Wrote me off. Never highlighted my years with Strikeforce or anything I did, or the wins, only my losses.”
While venting his frustrations on Dana White, Rockhold would continue on to say that he feels White controls the narrative of fighters and how they are perceived by the public, which included both the fans and media.
“Dana White controls the narrative of what the public perceives. It’s like, he f**ked me from the start. It took me 16, 17 years to earn my respect. Nothing I did in the past didn’t matter until now, alright. That’s why, I feel the way I feel sometimes, you know? That’s why I say the things I say. You got to understand the power that you have in that situation, the narrative you create, the public believes what they believe, what you tell them.”
Although he called an end to his career after suffering a three-fight losing skid, Luke Rockhold finished his professional MMA career at 16-6 and will forever be known and credited as both a Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion. After entering the promotion in 2013, Rockhold would go on to compile a 6-5 record with the UFC but picked up notable wins over Michael Bisping, Lyoto Machida, and Chris Weidman, who he defeated to win the belt at UFC 194.
Holding a successful modeling career outside of the UFC, Rockhold seems to have a fortunate future lined up for him after fighting, but it’s unfortunate to see him go out on rocky terms with the UFC and Dana White.
