Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold scored a third-round knockout against Joe Schilling at Karate Combat 45 in Dubai, marking his first combat sports win since 2017.
Luke Rockhold? Yeah, he’s back in the game.
Once a UFC middleweight champ, he’s tasted victory again. This past Saturday, he knocked out Joe Schilling in the third round of Karate Combat 45 in Dubai. This marks his first win in combat sports since 2017 when he knocked out David Branch.
Rockhold, now 39, kept Schilling on his toes. He mixed up his kicks and takedowns, keeping Schilling guessing. Schilling, though, came back strong in the second round. He landed a nasty right hand that left Rockhold’s nose a bloody mess.
But Rockhold? He kept his cool. He landed a clean right hook in the third round that sent Schilling to the mat. A few ground-and-pound punches later, and he’d sealed the deal.
Want to see it for yourself? Check out Rockhold’s handiwork below. (You’ll want to jump to the 4:32:49 mark.)
Rockhold was candid post-fight. “Three weeks’ notice, another infection I got this time, it wasn’t the greatest setup, but hey, we got the job done,” he said.
He’s just getting his feet wet again. “Just trying to get back in the game. This is great right here. It’s an interesting place. F***, bare-knuckle to this, walking into new arenas — you’ve got to test yourself in different ways, man. Never get too comfortable.”
Rockhold was once considered one of the best MMA middleweights in the world. But he left the UFC in 2022 after a three-fight losing streak to Yoel Romero, Jan Blachowicz, and Paulo Costa. He then signed with BKFC and faced Mike Perry in a bare-knuckle boxing bout, but lost via second-round TKO.
After his win on Saturday, Rockhold threw down a challenge. He called out fellow former UFC champ Lyoto Machida for a face-off in Karate Combat. Rockhold and Machida have history — Rockhold defeated Machida via second-round submission in a UFC bout back in April 2015.