Love him or hate him, Luke Rockhold is a great competitor and an overall prolific entity. Rockhold is most known for being amongst the elite in the UFC, having held the middleweight title earlier on in his career. There's a lot more to Rockhold, though.
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The California native has done a great amount with his 37 years, and there's so much more to come, as he's expected to make his return to the UFC at some point in 2022. Unlike many fighters who claim that fighting is all that they know, Rockhold had options, but pursued MMA purely by choice.
10 Modeling
It's no secret, Rockhold is an objectively attractive man. Fighting doesn't offer the typical facial reconstruction that models usually seek. However, Rockhold has done a great job keeping his looks as sharp as can be.
Modeling agent, Jason Kanner, discovered Rockhold when watching UFC 194. Kanner has worked with MMA fighters before, such as Alan Jouban and Paige VanZant. Through Kanner, Rockhold was able to land a gig where he'd be the face of Ralph Lauren's Polo Blue cologne.
9 Millionaire Matchmaker
Between the UFC and reality television, Luke Rockhold can be found multiple times when flipping the channels. Rockhold appeared on the television show Millionaire Matchmaker.
Rockhold was booted from the show, however. He has mentioned that settling down isn't his style, so his time on the show was most likely for publicity in his favor. When on a date, Rockhold allegedly asked his companion a really off-putting question. He later claimed that he was made to look dirty through editing, and regardless of this, he had success with the co-host of the show.
8 American Kickboxing Academy
Fans don't need to do extensive research to find out why Rockhold is such a good fighter. He's very talented and trains at one of the most highly-touted MMA gyms in the world, American Kickboxing Academy.
Working with the likes of Daniel Cormier, Cain Velazquez and Khabib Nurmagomedov, Rockhold and his gym family are amongst the best to compete in MMA. Rockhold has been very candid about his relationship with his training partners and is a staple at AKA.
7 Volkan Oezdimir
Rockhold did take a hiatus from AKA to train with Henri Hooft before his bout against David Branch. Rockhold claimed that "All my guys that are my size and bigger are not really available." so he outsourced in preparation back to UFC gold.
Rockhold stuck around for a while, which sparked a bit of controversy. Volkan Oezdimir would challenge Daniel Cormier, Rockhold's teammate and friend, for his light heavyweight championship. Cormier brushed it off and said that "Luke can't really help him.".
6 Skating And Surfing
Born in Santa Cruz, California, where skating and surfing is ubiquitous, it's not hard to believe that Rockhold would partake in these extreme sports. Rockhold has made the connection between surfing and fighting, claiming that the flow of surfing helped him develop as a martial artist.
"I don't really have a karate stance. I don't really have a taekwondo stance. I don't really have a boxing stance. I've got that surf stance and skate stance." Rockhold blends other parts of his lifestyle in beautifully with MMA. Beyond actually surfing and skating, they've taught him a lot of the intangibles. Being tough is a must as a fighter, and skateboarding will toughen up anyone, just ask Luke Rockhold.
5 Rockhold Comes From A Family of Athletes
Luke Rockhold definitely works hard, nobody can doubt that after all he's accomplished. Some nice genetics doesn't hurt to have though, as Rockhold comes from a family of various athletes.
Basketball, surfing, tennis, the Rockhold family tree has seen it all in terms of athletics. Rockhold's father was a basketball player and his brother, Matt, is a professional surfer. Rockhold started Judo at a young age, but jiu-jitsu is what stuck with him and led him to see if his innate athleticism would mix well with MMA.
4 He Dated Demi Lavato
UFC 205 saw Luke Rockhold in attendance with a date. No big deal, just singer and songwriter, Demi Lavato. Rockhold and Lavato were together for a few months in 2016.
This didn't last, however, as it was reported that the two broke up in 2017. Rockhold has been very upfront about having no desire to settle down, which was most likely a large role in the split.
3 He Beat Michael Bisping
Rockhold losing the middleweight title to Bisping has been played over and over again. Rightfully so, as it was a great story for Bisping and one of the biggest upsets the UFC has seen. But that fight was indeed a rematch.
While it's rarely shown in the UFC's promotional work, Rockhold put on one of his best performances against Bisping at UFC Fight Night 55, winning via submission in the second round. Rockhold dropped Bisping with a head kick and finished him with a mounted one-arm guillotine choke.
2 He Was A Champion In Strikeforce
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Rockhold defeated some marquee names during his run in Strikeforce. Strikeforce would be bought out by the UFC, and a lot of the talent would have to jump ship.
Rockhold put together an impressive string of finishes in order to fight Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza for the Strikeforce middleweight title. Rockhold won this via unanimous decision. This belt was defended twice before Strikeforce was dissolved. Rockhold left his mark as the last middleweight champion in Strikeforce history.
1 He Took Weidman's Undefeated Record
Rockhold no longer held the Strikeforce belt, but he set his sights the the UFC middleweight title. Rockhold bounced back from his debut loss and won four straight fights, all by finish. This earned him a fight against an undefeated Chris Weidman.
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This fight started out very competitive, but things made a sudden turn as Rockhold was able to be the first to take Weidman down. He was not just the first to take him down, but the first to defeat Weidman. Rockhold captured UFC gold by way of fourth-round TKO.
