UFC Fighter Luke Rockhold Announced His Retirement After Losing Against Paulo Costa

Luke Rockhold is a former MMA fighter who competed in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Luke previously fought at Middleweight and was the UFC Middleweight Champion. He is a two-time world champion who also holds the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.

The athlete defended the title twice before the UFC officially absorbed Strikeforce in 2013.

Why Did Luke Rockhold Retire?

Paulo Costa won a hard-fought three-round decision in the co-main event of UFC 278, while an exhausted Luke Rockhold announced his retirement.

Following the fight, he bear-hugged UFC broadcast analyst Joe Rogan, who was interviewing him. He kissed the top of Rogan’s head and splattered his blood all over Joe’s white shirt.

Rogan was overcome with emotion as the former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion announced his retirement.

“I can’t do this anymore,” said Rockhold, who had not fought since losing to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 in 2019. “I gave it everything I had, but I’m getting old.”

Daniel Cormier, Luke’s former teammate, and close friend, left the broadcast booth and embraced him as he exited the cage. Luke was greeted in the locker room by fighters Marlon “Chito” Vera, fight manager Ali Abdelaziz, Jalin Turner,  and many others.

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Luke Rockhold’s Loss During The Match Against Paulo Costa

In the co-main event of UFC 278 on Saturday at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Paulo Costa and Luke Rockhold delivered a wild West-style bar brawl.

As the fight ended, the athletes were exhausted and covered in blood, most of it Luke’s. Paulo had Luke’s back and was attempting a rear naked choke.

With about 20 seconds remaining, Luke reversed his position and began rubbing the blood on his face into Paulo’s face. The crowd erupted when a replay was shown on the video boards inside the arena, but it was just one crazy moment in a wild fight.

Paulo won by 30-27 on all three scorecards in a fight where the men simply clubbed each other with kicks and punches. Luke spent the last half of the fight mostly hanging against the cage due to exhaustion, but every now and then, he’d throw a kick or a punch that would hurt Paulo.

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Explore Luke Rockhold’s Career Earnings

Luke Rockhold’s total UFC career earnings are estimated to be $2.29 million, according to Sportszion.

Luke was paid $40,000 after losing a knockout to the veteran in his UFC debut against Vitor Belfort.

The UFC fighter received his largest payout from Yoel Romero. Despite being defeated by the Cuban, Romero, by KO, he earned $485,000.

On December 12, 2015, at UFC 194, he fought Chris Weidman for the UFC Middleweight Championship. The athlete won by technical knockout in the fourth round, becoming the seventh middleweight champion in UFC history.

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Luke Rockhold’s Net Worth 2022: How Rich?

Luke Rockhold’s expected net worth is $3 million, as reported by Celebrity Net Worth.

Rockhold made most of his money as a UFC fighter and even made a good living as a model.

The UFC fighter signed with Soul Artist Management in New York, the same agency that discovered fellow UFC fighter Alan Jouban and launched Channing Tatum’s career.

He has since had his first spread as a professional model published. With his modeling career taking off, he revealed that he would be willing to take an indefinite break from the Octagon to pursue his newfound modeling career.

The athlete has also walked the runway at New York Fashion Week. He was appointed as the new face of Ralph Lauren’s “Polo Blue” cologne fragrance in 2018. 

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