After KO loss & broken jaw – Ex champ Luke Rockhold may return to UFC
This weekend former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman returned to the win column after scoring a unanimous decision win over Omari Akhmedov. It seems that this performance didn’t just motivate Weidman, but also his rival and ex champ Luke Rockhold, who is now considering a UFC return. The two first met at UFC 194, with Rockhold winning via fourth round TKO to capture the middleweight title. Rockhold was then knocked out by Michael Bisping in his first title defence.
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This news was somewhat surprising, as Rockhold hasn’t fought in over a year, following his second straight KO loss in the UFC – Which also left the former champ with a broken jaw. First he came up short in an interim title bout with Yoel Romero, which Weidman pulled out of due to injury. Then he tested the waters at light heavyweight, once more getting knocked out, this time by Jan Blachowicz.
At first it seemed as if Rockhold would retire, however seeing Weidman return to form seems to to have changed the former’s tune. Speaking with ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani, Rockhold hinted at a rematch with Weidman being the drawing factor in terms of a UFC comeback.
Weidman snapped a two fight losing streak by defeating Akhmedov, and he is now 2-2 in his last four. Rockhold’s last victory was a 2017 TKo win over former WSoF champ David Branch.