The legendary career of multi-organization world champion Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold has had one of the most successful, and legendary mixed martial arts careers of all time, particularly in the 185-lb division opposing other middleweights.
Beginning his martial arts journey with judo, picking it up at age six, he’d quit the sport at age ten and eventually a couple years following, in seventh grade, join his schools wrestling team. Rockhold would stick with the sport until graduating, but he picked up BJJ whilst still enrolled as well.
In 2006, Rockhold was awarded a silver medal at the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships in the blue belt division, before winning the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships a year later, also in the blue belt division.
Rockhold’s final BJJ tournament also took place in 2007, and it also took place at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships, as he took the gold medal in the no-gi purple belt division.
The eventual multi-organization world champion would then debut in mixed martial arts in that same year of 2007, going 1-1 before being signed under the Strikeforce banner. Over the next several years, Rockhold would go 6-0 (two knockouts, four submissions) within the promotion, securing first round finishes in all six encounters.
He was then slated against Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, who had just won the belt and defended it against future, now former UFC champion Robbie Lawler. Rockhold was able to claim the title over the course of five rounds, earning the unanimous decision victory, and Strikeforce middleweight championship in the aftermath.
Rockhold would go on to defend it against UFC veterans Keith Jardine (TKO) and 
Tim Kennedy (UD) before Strikeforce was bought out by ZUFFA, shuffling all of those fighters’ contracts over to the UFC. Only Rockhold would debut against a TRT-abusing Vitor Belfort, a former champion himself, and in Brazil of all places.
You could say the odds weren’t exactly stacked in favor of the now former Strikeforce champion, who’d never lost his belt in a fight.
Nonetheless, Belfort would unleash one of the most ruthlessly violent spinning wheel kicks any of us had ever seen and KO’d Rockhold in the first round.
But, the rebound was nothing short of legendary.
Rockhold would go on to win his next four-straight bouts over the likes of Costas Philippou (TKO, body kick), Tim Boetsch (kimura), Michael Bisping (guillotine choke), and former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (rear naked choke), finishing the first two in the opening round, and the latter two in the second.
The first two (Philippou & Boetsch) were against solid talents at the time, though at this point it may appear they were warm up fights (Philippou was 5-1 in last six, Boetsch was 5-2 in last seven); he 
became the first man to submit Bisping, doing so after hurting him with a head kick, and Machida is a fellow BJJ black belt he handily out-grappled and submitted.
And that kimura he set up on Boetsch from an inverted triangle, it was just a thing of beauty to watch.
The fourth consecutive win, over Machida, granted Rockhold a shot
at then UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.
Weidman was the man who’d gone 2-0 against Anderson Silva; he took his belt by ending his 16-fight run inside the promotion (including 12 title fights), and he’d defeated Machida, as well as Belfort in his two title defenses since claiming the throne.
Rockhold was 14-2 going into this fight while Weidman was 13-0; both were three-time world champions (each won the belt, Weidman UFC, Rockhold Strikeforce, and defended it twice) that’d looked incredible against the very best the sport had to offer.
This was truly an epic match up we were very lucky to see go down at UFC 194.
The two top tier combatants put on a back-and-forth fight for the ages, seeing Rockhold the victor via TKO in round four. Considering Rockhold had staph infection and was on antibiotics going in, it couldn’t have been more impressive of a win.
We were all expecting Rockhold to go on a long, impressive run after this, as he’d
just turned 31 years old two months prior to defeating an undefeated Weidman to claim the belt.
Rockhold was initially slated to face Weidman in a rematch for his first title defense, but Weidman was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by another former foe, this one Michael Bisping.
No one expected Bisping to win this fight, no one. Especially not Luke Rockhold, and it cost him dearly.
Following his first encounter with Rockhold, Bisping was 3-4 in his last seven. But he’d won three-straight since this defeat, and he was the most fitting opponent to challenge Rockhold for his title about three weeks out.
Rockhold went into this fight far too arrogant and cocky however, and was KO’d in the opening round considering, completely flipping the middleweight divisions landscape upside down.
Rockhold would take a 15-month break from action, before returning against former WSOF champ-champ (middleweight & light-heavyweight) David Branch.
Though Branch hurt Rockhold early on, he was mauled for the majority of the contest, seeing Rockhold the victor via TKO in round two.
He was back! And many of us still had very high hopes for him reclaiming his championship.
However, Rockhold would be viciously KO’d in his interim title bout with Yoel Romero, who missed weight by three pounds mind you, before taking another extended absence from the sport.
17 months later, he’d return against future, now former light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in July of 2016.
Blachowicz hurt Rockhold badly with a head kick toward the end of round one, and KO’d him stiff 99 seconds into the second. Rockhold’s physique looked great, as it always did, but he looked slow and lethargic up at 205 lbs.
Another long absence would take place, before returning just over three years later in his retirement fight with Paulo Costa in August of 2022.
With the fight taking place at UFC 278, which went down in Salt Lake City, Utah, the elevation really got to him, as it did with a number of talents on the card.
Rockhold was truly gassed midway through the opening round, but he kept fighting against perhaps the most dangerous middleweight on the roster until the final bell sounded.
We’d all thought his chin was gone; he was 1-3 in his last four, being viciously KO’d in all three defeats, and he was KO’d badly in his promotional debut.
Not to mention, his second fight, which brought his record from 1-0 to 1-1, he was TKO’d in.
But we saw a different outcome than most of us expected.
Most believed Costa would easily KO Rockhold, but he didn’t. Despite losing all three rounds on the judges’ scorecards, and aside from his endurance issues, Rockhold looked incredible.
He took Costa’s best shots, hurt Costa twice in the third round, landed a series of nasty kicks, primarily to the body as he always does,
Rockhold looked great. He really went out on his shield. This was the first defeat of his career not coming via knockout.
For someone who’d never really developed his boxing game, his hands looked very sound at UFC 278. His kicks have always been some of the best, and heaviest in the sport, but his boxing, offensively and defensively, never truly evolved.
But Luke Rockhold turned back the clock at UFC 278 and showed a couple new wrinkles to his game, digging deep en route to a Fight of the Night performance bonus. He even threw three spinning back kicks in this fight and landed all three of them to Costa’s body.
Not bad for a swan song.
Of course, it would’ve been great to see him win, but what more can you ask of a 37, near 38-year-old that’s fighting a top five opponent and hadn’t fought in three years?
Luke Rockhold’s career accomplishments:
- Three-time IBJJF medalist (two gold, one silver)
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
- Strikeforce middleweight champion (two defenses, last ever)
- Tied for most finishes in Strikeforce history (7)
- Most submission victories in Strikeforce history (5)
- UFC middleweight champion
- Two-time Fight of the Night winner
- Three-time Performance of the Night winner
- Finished career with record of 16-6 (six knockouts, eight submissions, two decisions)
Luke Rockhold will go down as one of the greatest MMA grapplers of all time, and he’ll surely go down as one of the greatest middleweights of all time.
The only two we can think of that could match him in that regard (grappling) at 185 lbs is Jacare Souza and Demian Maia; he beat Souza in a world title fight, a fight he was just 7-1 going into while Souza was 14-2, and Maia hasn’t fought at middleweight since the beginning of 2012.
From being 15-2 at his best, to going 1-4 in his final five bouts, bringing his record to 16-6, Rockhold had one of the bigger falls from grace in our beloved sports history. But when he was at his best, we all know what he was capable of doing, finishing the very best in the entire sport.
Thank you, Luke Rockhold, for an incredibly impressive, legendary, and exciting 15-year, 22-fight career.
You will be missed.
We also did a piece on the career of Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone if you’d like to check that one out as well.
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