Esther Lin/MMA Fighting
Luke Rockhold suffered his second straight knockout loss after Jan Blachowicz floored the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion at UFC 239 a few weeks ago, breaking his jaw in the process.
Despite being one of his biggest rivals, Michael Bisping doesn’t find pleasure in seeing Luke get slept in that fashion, as “The Count” says he genuinely feels bad for his old foe.
“The amount of messages that people have sent me, because everyone seems to think that I’m gonna take pleasure in seeing Luke knocked out like that, and it’s the opposite,” Bisping said in his Believe You Me podcast (transcript via BJPenn.com). “I really feel for the guy. I do. I feel bad for him. It’s a real shame,” he added.
“Not only did he get his jaw broke, but he’s now been knocked out cold, viciously, in three of his last four fights.”
One of those knockouts belongs to Bisping, who knocked Rockhold out at UFC 199 back in 2016 to win the Middleweight title. After Luke’s most recent defeat, UFC president Dana White suggested that perhaps the fighter-turned model should call it a career.
It’s a sentiment “The Count” agrees with, though he says if he continues fighting Luke will have his respect forever.
“And I can’t help but think that he’s done,” he said. “Now that doesn’t mean that he’s going to be. What he could do is come back and prove everybody wrong! Prove me wrong. That’s what I would’ve done. That’s kind of what I did. And, if he does that. Then my god! He will have my respect forever,” he added.
“But I gotta say, the writing on the wall. It looks like his career is over. It is not only the fact that A, he’s been knocked out three times out of his last four. It’s not only the fact that he’s got a broken jaw, and that’s going to take some time to heal back from, said Bisping.
“It’s also the fact that it’s one thing getting knocked out cold once and coming back from that. But when you’ve been knocked out cold three of your last four, I mean, that is some psychological demons to overcome.”
Rockhold has gone radio silent since the loss – which was his Light Heavyweight debut – so there is no telling what he is thinking in regards to his fighting future. Luke’s recent stretch of losing three of four is the worst of his combat career.
Prior to that, Rockhold had only lost twice before in an eight-year span.