I let Ralph Lauren and everything else get to my head - Luke Rockhold offers brutally honest take on recent losses, admits he was fighting "for all the wrong reasons"
![Luke Rockhold opens up about his losses [Photo credit: @LukeRockhold on Twitter]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/08/38af3-16606286070206-1920.jpg?w=500)
Luke Rockhold admitted that he was distracted by all the fame and fortune that came with becoming a top-level UFC fighter.
Ever since losing the middleweight title to Michael Bisping, Rockhold has had a string of poor performances. He bounced back with a win over David Branch but suffered back-to-back knockout losses against Yoel Romero and Jan Blachowicz.
During a recent interview with Shak MMA, Rockhold opened up about why he was unable to get his career right back on track. The former titleholder admitted that he got caught up in all the distractions, including the sponsorship deal he inked with fashion company Ralph Lauren in 2018.
"It comes with the tension and the territory I found myself in these last few years..." Rockhold said. "It's been a long time, man. Ralph Lauren and all these other things... I kind of let them get to my head and I let this s*** weigh on my shoulders. And I'm not in that place in my life. I'm in a great place and I'm doing this for myself. I was doing it for all the wrong reasons."
Check Luke Rockhold's interview below:
Rockhold hasn't competed in over three years since losing to Blachowicz at UFC 239. Right now, though, the 37-year-old is adamant that distractions are no longer an issue for him. As such, Rockhold expects to have a great performance against Paulo Costa on Saturday.
Luke Rockhold expects title shot if he beats Paulo Costa
Luke Rockhold never got an opportunity to reclaim his title after dropping it to Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 55.
However, he believes a win over Paulo Costa in Saturday's co-main event should be enough to reinsert himself into the title picture. During an interview with Helen Yee, Rockhold was asked how soon he believes he could fight for the title. The former middleweight champ responded:
"Next. I’m not going to do anything else. If I don’t get it, they don’t get it."
Watch the interview below:
Reigning champion Israel Adesanya is set to defend his throne against Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 281 later this year. Given that Adesanya has beaten almost every contender in the division, it's conceivable for Rockhold to earn an instant title shot if he takes care of business at UFC 278.