Two esteemed former UFC champions suffered devastating knockout losses at UFC 239 and UFC president Dana White thinks it may be time for them to hang up the 4oz gloves.
Ex-UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold suffered a second-round KO defeat to Poland’s Jan Blachowicz on his light heavyweight debut. That loss sees him go 1-3 in his last four fights.
Rockhold suffered a broken jaw – the second time he’s had to endure such an injury. On top of that, he has suffered a string of issues with his shin which was bandaged for his fight.
After that, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm dropped to 2-5 in her last seven bouts after being finished with a headkick and punches by dual UFC titleholder Amanda Nunes on Saturday night.
At the post-fight press conference White suggested it might be time for both fighters to consider their futures in the sport.
“I think Luke Rockhold should talk about hanging it up,” White began.
“He broke his jaw tonight. So that’s the second broken jaw. He’s been knocked out viciously a few times here. Shin is all banged up. He had to skin graph and all kinds of stuff. He’s had a good career. He’s been a great fighter. I’d like to see him hang it up.
“He’s got another career that he’s actually doing well at,” White continued. “Everybody’s a f**king model. ‘I’m a model, I’m a model’ — that guy’s actually really modelling for Ralph Lauren. So good for him.”
Soon, questions were asked about the future of Holm after her defeat.
“Listen, I don’t want to start going retirement crazy in here but she’s had an amazing career,” White said of Holm.
“She is one of the sweetest human beings you can ever meet and if you follow her on Instagram, she trains like a beast. She’s almost 40 years old and she’s in ridiculous shape. The things that this woman can do physically with the rings and gymnastics and all that stuff is phenomenal.
“She’s an incredible athlete, an incredible human being. I don’t know. I think she needs to take a look at what’s next for her.
“I’m just saying that because I care about her as a person,” White said to conclude. “She’s amazing. [It’s] something we should probably talk about.”
