"I am not convinced there has been a middleweight yet that can beat him" - Chael Sonnen believes the version of Luke Rockhold that defeated Chris Weidman is the 185lbs GOAT
Luke Rockhold suffered his third consecutive loss at UFC 278, leaving it all on the line against Paulo Costa before retiring from mixed martial arts. Rockhold was defeated by unanimous decision in a fight that entertained those around the MMA world and earned both middleweights the Fight of the Night bonus. Chael Sonnen gave Rockhold the ultimate praise in retirement by claiming that the UFC 194 version of him may be the greatest any middleweight has been.
"I gave it my all ... I'm f---ing old."
Luke Rockhold was full of emotions as he announced his retirement after #UFC278 https://t.co/QsJvGcH2sB
Rockhold had an incredible start to his career as he was 15-2 in his first 17 fights. Unfortunately for him, after winning the middleweight title in his 17th fight, things were not quite the same. The Californian would win just one of his final five fights, while battling multiple injuries before retiring with a 16-6 record.
Despite the tough end to his career, Sonnen offered Rockhold the highest praise. Speaking on his YouTube show Beyond The Fight, Sonnen stated that the version of Rockhold that defeated Chris Weidman at UFC 194 to win the middleweight championship may be the greatest fighter in the division's history:
"You're talking about who the greatest ever is, when you're having a conversation of all the guys at middleweight in the upper echelon, on their single greatest night, had they met up with anybody else, who would have won? I'm telling you, if you want to have who the greatest middleweight of all-time is, it might be Luke Rockhold."
Sonnen added:
"The Luke Rockhold that defeated Chris Weidman. I'm not convinced there has been a middleweight yet that can beat him, and maybe there is. I'm telling you, I'm not convinced. That's how good Luke is."
Watch Chael Sonnen's full remarks on Rockhold below:
Luke Rockhold spoke out for fighters before retiring
In the build-up to UFC 278, Luke Rockhold called out UFC president Dana White regarding fighter pay. While some felt those comments could hurt Rockhold down the line, with the former middleweight champion now retired, there is no chance of his comments backfiring.
Luke Rockhold just *went off* on UFC fighter pay, bonus structure and health care at #UFC278 media day. 🗣️
Full interview: bit.ly/3dAmmrl https://t.co/mQkka2PPDj
Rockhold's decision to speak up and attempt to help his fellow fighters earned the respect of many fans entering his final fight. Others around the fight world, including heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, took notice of Rockhold's comments and supported him.
With Rockhold retiring after UFC 278, his motive for speaking up may have become more clear. Without risking potential punishment, Rockhold was attempting to help fighters down the line, even if his words wouldn't benefit him personally.
Rockhold's post-UFC 278 retirement has added him to a long list of fighters who have called it a career this summer.
Rory MacDonald joins Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Donald Cerrone, James Krause, Uriah Hall, Nina Nunes, Jessica Eye, Eddie Wineland as some of the names to recently retire – and that's just this summer. twitter.com/MMAJunkie/stat…