Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has admitted he “might be getting an itch” to fight again.
Rockhold hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Jan Blachowicz in his light-heavyweight debut in July 2019. After the fight, Rockhold admitted he was content not competing right now and many fans believed we may have seen the last of the American in the octagon.
Rockhold has now hinted that he may be ready to go again. The 35-year-old is healing up well following shoulder surgery and feeling like he wants to compete again, he said.
“That’s why I just kept my mouth shut,” Rockhold told MMA UK when asked about retiring and then staging a comeback. “People just do it to seek attention. I’m not trying to like make some big statement, make attention about it when I’m not sure about it.
“Here we are now. I’m getting healthier and I might be getting an itch. We’ll see.”
If he does come back Rockhold appears to be eyeing a return to 185lbs were he made his name. Fights against middleweight legend Anderson Silva and former foe Chris Weidman are of particular interest to him.
“A lot of interesting choices. If Anderson [Silva] is still interested and seemingly he is, maybe, you never know. [Chris] Weidman’s got a fight coming up. If something, he comes out of that well, you never know. There’s options.
“I’ve just got to get healthy. It’s getting healthy and getting everything right and just taking some time off. I’ve been pushing it so hard for 15 years in this sport. It’s nice to have a break, mentally it’s freeing. Get focused on some other things I can do and there’s a lot to maintain and keep up with.”
Do you think Luke Rockhold should return to fighting in MMA?