WATCH: Luke Rockhold shows off broken tooth and stitched-up lower lip following TKO loss against Mike Perry at BKFC 41
Luke Rockhold showed off the damage to his face and teeth after fighting Mike Perry at BKFC 41.
On Saturday, April 29, Rockhold made his bare-knuckle boxing debut inside the 1stBank Center in Colorado. Despite having his moments, the former UFC middleweight champion was unsuccessful against Perry, losing a second-round verbal TKO.
Rockhold updated his fans on Instagram by showcasing his broken tooth and stitched-up lip. He had this to say in the video,
“Well, f*ck, what can I say? You can check bare knuckle off the list, that’s some crazy sh*t. Those little knuckles got me, square on the front too. Maybe a beard, maybe a better mouthpiece. It was a good fight, it’s a shame it had to end that way. Motherf*cker Mikey, tough b*stard, congrats. Thank you to my sponsors, thank you to the people.”
The abrupt ending to the BKFC 41 main event had fans confused about what happened. People began accusing Rockhold of quitting before finding out the damage that had been done to his teeth. After losing his first fight since leaving the UFC, the 38-year-old plans to continue his fighting career.
Take a look at Luke Rockhold's Instagram video below:
Luke Rockhold plans to fight again with gloves
Luke Rockhold’s last UFC fight was a unanimous decision loss against Paulo Costa in August 2022. Shortly after UFC 278, Rockhold announced that he had parted ways with the UFC after requesting his release. The 38-year-old wanted to explore the various opportunities available, leading to his fight at BKFC 41.
Although the first step in this new chapter wasn’t successful, Rockhold doesn’t plan on retiring. During the same Instagram video, he had this to say about what’s next:
“I’m not done, some gloves would be nice though.”
Rockhold’s last combat sports win was against David Branch in September 2017. Since then, the former UFC middleweight champion has lost three UFC fights, one submission grappling match, and a bare-knuckle boxing bout. With that said, the 38-year-old continues to display valiant efforts with a desire to succeed. Only time will tell what’s next for his fighting career.