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“Here we are now. I’m getting healthier and I might be getting an itch. We’ll see.”
It’s been almost a year since Luke Rockhold last fought in the UFC and, although initially hinting at retirement following his crushing knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239, the MMA veteran says he ‘might be getting the itch’ to compete again.
Speaking to MMAUK in a recent interview (h/t MMA Fighting), the former UFC middleweight champion claimed he’s feeling much better since undergoing surgery and taking some much needed time off to think about his future.
“That’s why I just kept my mouth shut,” Rockhold told said when asked about why he did’t announce his retirement following UFC 239. “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.”
Rockhold, a part-time model for Ralph Lauren, went on to suggest a possible comeback fight against Anderson Silva or Chris Weidman. Rockhold beat Weidman to capture the UFC middleweight title back in 2015 but the 35-year-old has never shared the Octagon with Silva.
“A lot of interesting choices,” Rockhold said. “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.”
Rockhold isn’t sure what the future holds for the UFC as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the global economy.
“We’ll see how the UFC and everyone comes out of this coronavirus epidemic because it’s going to bury a lot of companies. I’m curious to see how these fights come to be.”
Rockhold is 2-3 in his last five fights and not currently listed in the UFC men’s middleweight or light heavyweight rankings.