Former opponent indulges in a "toothless" banter against Luke Rockhold
One of Luke Rockhold's former opponents has taken multiple jibes at him after the recent defeat against Mike Perry. Rockhold's most recent combat sports contest witnessed him make his bare-knuckle boxing debut. The former UFC middleweight champion faced fellow former UFC star, Mike Perry.
Their 185-pound bare-knuckle boxing bout served as the main event of BKFC 41 on April 29th, 2023. While both fighters had their moments in the back-and-forth slugfest, Perry eventually secured victory via second-round TKO as Rockhold was unable to continue. It was later revealed that Rockhold suffered broken teeth, which is why he indicated to the referee that he wouldn't be able to keep fighting.
Speaking of Rockhold's combat sports career, his most recent MMA bout came against Paulo Costa at UFC 278 in August 2022. The middleweight matchup ended with Costa winning via unanimous decision and Rockhold announcing his MMA retirement. Costa has now posted multiple tweets addressing Rockhold's recent fight against Mike Perry.
'The Eraser' jested about Rockhold losing his teeth. He also alluded to Rockhold's 2018 KO loss against Yoel Romero and the aftermath that saw Romero kiss Rockhold. On that note, Costa also referenced Rockhold losing his teeth against Perry and tweeted:
"OMG luke will have a hard time kissing guys now. at least he has a hard chin with a toothless mouth. Perry did it again. Boxing is so different than mma, especially without gloves dude"
. Boxing is so different than mma , especially without gloves dude
OMG luke will have a hard time kissing guys now. at least he has a hard chin with a toothless mouth. Perry did it again 👏 . Boxing is so different than mma , especially without gloves dude https://t.co/8oc5thnpfg
Additionally, posting Photoshopped images from his own fight against Luke Rockhold, Paulo Costa tweeted:
"Tooth fairy is bringing your teeth new and shining u son of b**ch"
Tooth fairy 🧚♂️ is bringing your teeth 🦷 new and shining u son of bitch twitter.com/secretjuicearm…
Paulo Costa then posted a photograph of himself with seemingly broken teeth. He appeared to label himself the 'BLF' (Best Looking Fighter) yet again and tweeted:
"I must be the most supportive motherf**ker in fight sports. blf toothless"
I must be the most supportive motherfucker in fight sports. blf toothless 🧚♀️ 🦷 https://t.co/loM0UkuiQd
Costa then tweeted images of UFC welterweight Colby Covington, Luke Rockhold, and himself. All three images showed the respective fighters missing a few teeth. He attached the following caption to the tweet:
"Toothless gang"
Toothless gang https://t.co/l8xBRw7v1d
Further, Costa tweeted a photograph of MMA legend Daniel Cormier without a few teeth and wrote:
"Forgot this mtfk"
Forgot this mtfk https://t.co/ZbwJfemZ1N
What's next for Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa?
Luke Rockhold posted an Instagram video after BKFC 41 and congratulated Mike Perry on his victory. The former UFC middleweight kingpin suggested that he isn't done with the fight game. It's unclear whether Rockhold's next fight will be a bare-knuckle boxing match or if he'll end his MMA retirement. Moreover, he did hint in his Instagram video that he'd love to compete in a fight with gloves.
Meanwhile, it's believed that Paulo Costa is likely to stay in the UFC. He's recently been lobbying for a fight against UFC welterweight and middleweight star Khamzat Chimaev. The consensus is that the Costa-Chimaev grudge match could finally materialize at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 21st, 2023. However, the fight hasn't been officially announced yet.
Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev having an argument at the UFC PI.😳
https://t.co/mE3sBL1DgK