Did former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold date pop star Demi Lovato?
Luke Rockhold has been having a bit of a setback in his UFC career, but his popularity with women is probably as strong as ever. Among the list of women that the 36-year-old UFC fighter has been in a relationship with - some known, others not so much - Hollywood pop star Demi Lovato is a name that certainly stands out.
Luke Rockhold and Demi Lovato briefly dated back in 2016 and parted ways after a few months. But there is apparently no bad blood between the two.
Demi Lovato reportedly started seeing Luke Rockhold after splitting from her longtime boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama, and both parties were seemingly interested in a casual fling at the time. The pair were spotted together on multiple occasions, including at UFC 205 in New York City's Madison Square Garden, where Conor McGregor made history by defeating Eddie Alvarez, becoming the first-ever UFC double champion.
Despite wanting to keep things light, Luke Rockhold and Demi Lovato did end up getting matching tattoos on their little fingers of a tiny, smiley emoji.
When asked by TMZ in 2017 if he regretted getting that tattoo now that he had separated from Demi Lovato, Luke Rockhold responded by saying several of his friends also had the same ink.
In 2018, Luke Rockhold addressed his relationship with the former Disney star in a piece he penned for Athlete's Voice:
"I found myself moved from the sports pages to the gossip pages again recently when I dated Demi Lovato... I was in the gym and watched her train. She's passionate. She's talented. I took to that and we hung out a bit. Anytime you find someone like that - I appreciate passionate, drive women - it's nice. And at the time, it was fun for me and she's still a nice girl," Luke Rockhold wrote.
Luke Rockhold considering Khabib Nurmagomedov to be his coach
Luke Rockhold has not had a great run in UFC as of late, having lost three of his last five fights. His last two outings were in losing efforts against Yoel Romero and Jan Blachowicz. Before that, his five-fight winning streak was brutally broken by Michael Bisping with a first-round knockout at UFC 199 in their rematch from two years prior.
Luke Rockhold has not competed since his 2019 loss to Jan Blachowicz, the current UFC light heavyweight champion. But in a recent Instagram post, he has talked about returning. He has also claimed that recently-retired former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has reached out to him, wanting to coach him for his return.