Luke Rockhold fell short in his grappling battle with Nick Rodriguez.
Yesterday (Nov. 30), Polaris 12 took place inside the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport, Wales. The event was streamed live on UFC Fight Pass. Former UFC middleweight champion Rockhold took on Rodriguez and ended up losing the 230-pound no-gi catchweight match via unanimous decision.
Rockhold suffered a cut early in the match as a result of a clash of heads. He wasn’t interested in halting the action any further and asked for vaseline to the delight of the crowd.
Rodriguez didn’t allow Rockhold to get much offense in throughout the match. Rodriguez was a silver medalist in the 2019 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship. He’s also a purple belt under Renzo Gracie.
There was an interesting moment towards the end of the match as Rockhold nearly got sent into the commentary table.
Rockhold has said that he plans to compete in grappling matches, but he told MMAFighting that he doesn’t foresee himself returning to the Octagon.
“Fighting takes a lot. I’ve done it, I’ve been to the top of the game. I just don’t have the same passion, the hunger for it at this point,” Rockhold said. “I’m excited to go in other realms of life. I know I have a lot of fans out there. I’m sorry I’m not fighting but you never know. Maybe someday I will but I don’t foresee it at this point.
“A couple grappling matches to keep myself entertained in the process, I think the people who tune in will have some fun watching. I’m going to bring it to this kid, and if I do another one, I’m sure it’s going to be fun and entertaining.”
