Chael Sonnen thinks Luke Rockhold’s stock never has been higher.
Rockhold (16-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC) returned from a layoff of more than three years to face Paulo Costa at UFC 278. Although he lost a unanimous decision, it was a wildly entertaining battle in which Rockhold showed incredible heart and toughness, which won the fans over.
The former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion hung up his gloves in an emotional post-fight speech, but Sonnen wishes Rockhold would have continued fighting.
“I cannot get enough Luke Rockhold. I can’t,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I have never wanted to see him fight more than I do right now. I want him to rescind his retirement.
“(I’m) crazy about Luke right now. I think that you guys are, too. But Luke is now in a position where he’s unhappy with Dana White. … If Luke called the UFC today, they’d put him back in the USADA pool. They’ll book him a match. If Luke called Dana and said, ‘Hey, listen, could you give me a release? I started with Scott Coker and I’d like to go back over there,’ Dana would do it. Truly, out of respect to Luke.”
Rockhold was very outspoken in the lead-up to his fight with Costa about fighter pay. He also said after his fight with Costa that he never got his fair shake from the UFC and that he was written off by Dana White from the get go. But despite Rockhold’s heavy critique toward the UFC, White paid him respect for his valiant effort against Costa.
Rockhold, 37, exited the sport with three straight losses to Yoel Romero, ex-light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz and Costa. His last octagon win came in September 2017 when he finished David Branch by TKO.
