Luke Rockhold On Potential Return To Octagon, Opponent

Former UFC champion Luke Rockhold has the itch again.

Rockhold appeared on a recent episode of Submission Radio to discuss his return to the Octagon.

For Rockhold, though, everything has to line up perfectly.

Paulo Costa is being discussed as an opponent, but he has struggled with the weight cut. Leading Rockhold to throw some jabs his way. 

“The first thing that came to mind was wine,” he said. “It’s an option, it’s a very viable option. So, as long as terms are met, you know, we could have a dance.

“I’m not here to fight (expletive) cheaters. So, if the weight is met, unless too much wine is consumed, you never know. Weight has to be met, weight has to be met. There’s too many (expletive) weak-ass people trying to get advantages upon the game. And I’ve lost, I’ve killed myself to make weight and do things right. And can’t say the same for the rest of them.”

The last time he fought was in 2019 when Rockhold lost to Jan Blachowicz in his light heavyweight debut. It marked the third loss in four fights, including one for the interim middleweight title. 

Rockhold won that belt in 2015 with a finish of Chris Weideman, losing it a year later to Michael Bisping. He has been working to overcome back issues since his last fight.

“It’s going good. I’m just really now starting to press the training. I haven’t really been doing much of anything besides the recovery work,” he said. “So, now it is time to really press, and I guess that’s when you really find out what you’re capable of. But other than that, I mean, I have met a lot of good people and I put some things in play, and my body’s feeling good. And so now it’s just time to really press it, push it.”