Luke Rockhold, the former UFC middleweight champion, made his light heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 on Saturday. While he looked good heading into the bout, the match unfolded much differently than he had probably hoped.
After being tagged with a powerful flurry to end the first round, a dazed Rockhold — overwhelmed by Blachowicz's power — was knocked out with a brutal left hook in the second round.
It was Rockhold's third knockout loss in his last four bouts, prompting UFC president Dana White to suggest the former champion retire. White said after the fight:
“I think Luke Rockhold should talk about hanging it up. He broke his jaw tonight. So that’s a second broken jaw, he’s been knocked out viciously a few times here, shin is all banged up. He had to have a skin graft and all kinds of stuff. It’s just he’s had a good career, he’s been a great fighter. I’d like to see him hang it up. And he’s got another career that he’s actually doing well at. Everybody’s a f*cking model right? ‘I’m a model, I’m a model.’ That guy’s actually modeling for Ralph Lauren so good for him.”
Rockhold's last win came in September 2017 when he earned a TKO victory of David Branch. A series of setbacks, including a "nightmare" leg injury, have led to Rockhold's current situation which is one of uncertainty in the UFC.
Jan Blachowicz has now won four of his last five fights.