"2023 could get interesting" - Former UFC champion teases potential octagon return
Former UFC champion Luke Rockhold called time on an illustrious MMA career after losing to Paulo Costa at UFC 278 in August 2022. The former middleweight stated in his post-fight interview that he was 'too old' to keep competing in MMA.
The UFC has said goodbye to several legends this year, with Donald Cerrone, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and Frankie Edgar. But it seems that fans shouldn't be too hasty in finalizing Rockhold's inclusion in that list.
It appears that Rockhold may have changed his mind on retirement, following a cryptic Instagram post yesterday. The former champion was pictured in boxing gloves at the RVCA Training Center, where he trains under Jason Parillo, and stated that next year could be 'interesting'.
"Putting the old rig to the test. 2023 could get interesting."
See the post below:
Luke Rockhold's performance against Paulo Costa showed that he can still compete with the best fighters at middleweight. Despite a three-year gap between his fight against Costa and his previous fight against Jan Blachowicz, Rockhold showed no signs of ring rust. The contest was awarded Fight of the Night.
Based on his recent Instagram activity, a return to fighting seems to be in front of the former champion's mind right now. He posted this footage from after his fight with Costa just 10 days ago, with the following caption:
"P on the spot. The look on your guys faces is everything haha. Run it back, altitude sucks!"
Watch the video below:
Former UFC fighter and MMA legend Donald Cerrone admits to using PEDs
Former UFC fighter Donald Cerrone retired from the sport earlier this year, and has since begun experienting with performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
USADA, the drug testing agency employed by the promotion, immediately removes fighters from the testing pool once they announce their retirement. This means that 'Cowboy' has no need to worry about being caught doping.
Cerrone recently posted a series of images on Instagram where the former fighter looked enormous. He has also spoken about the physical effects of PEDs, and said this:
"I feel like I'm f***ing 20 again. The training would never stop. You could just literally train as hard as you wanted to, wake up the next day recovered and fresh. It's the fountain of youth."
See the post below: