Luke Rockhold Has Released Footage of His New Leg Injury Being Stitched By Doctors… It’s Not For Squeamish Eyes…
Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was being heavily linked to a fight against light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson in August’s UFC 226. That event is set to take place in Los Angeles, California. One thing is certain though: Luke Rockhold will not be there.
He’s suffered an incredibly nasty looking injury to his shin that looks like it could keep him out of action for a while. The deep wound occurred during a training session and has thrown the proposed fight into extreme doubt. Rockhold just can’t get a break these days.
Rockhold defeated Chris Weidman back in December 2015, to take the middleweight championship. He got knocked out in his first title defense against Michael Bisping and his latest fight against Yoel Romero. In between those two, he beat New Yorker David Branch.
Luke Rockhold reinjured his leg in training late last week and is now definitely not fighting Alexander Gustafsson this summer. I’m told he’s hoping to return in October, at the earliest. Here’s a video he provided to me of his shin getting stitched up. (Warning: GRAPHIC) pic.twitter.com/CDQseH7nUN
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 22, 2018
News Broken
The news that Luke Rockhold had got injured was broken by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, on Twitter. Rockhold had sent Helwani a number of videos which show his leg being stitched and basically being put back together. They’re not very nice. Helwani wrote:
“Luke Rockhold reinjured his leg in training late last week and is now definitely not fighting Alexander Gustafsson this summer. I’m told he’s hoping to return in October, at the earliest. Here’s a video he provided to me of his shin getting stitched up.”
As you can see from the video above, there’s a lot of nasty stuff going on with that shin. Your leg is not meant to be open like that. It’s all pretty gross and just goes to show just how easily serious injuries can happen, even in the safe environment of a gym.
And if that video wasn’t enough for you, here’s another of the stitching. pic.twitter.com/7DNsftcirW
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 22, 2018
Return
The future of Luke Rockhold is a curious one. He is still an elite talent but the problem for the Californian is that his chin seems to be made of glass. He’s been knocked out twice in his last three fights now, and that’s not good for any fighter. After losing to Romero, who is fighting for the title now, his path to middleweight glory is blocked.
UFC President Dana White has claimed that he’s trying to get Rockhold to fight Alexander Gustafsson in Los Angeles in August. That would be on the same card as the Nate Diaz vs Georges St. Pierre fight that both men said wasn’t happening. Sorry Dana, not looking good.
Many people believe that while Rockhold would be a more natural light-heavyweight than a middleweight – he’s a big dude – that Gustafsson would be a nightmare match-up for him. The giant Swede has arguably the slickest movement in the division, throwing shots from all angles. You got to feel for Rockhold’s chin.
Recovery
One thing is for certain, it’s going to be a while yet until we see the Santa Monica native back in an octagon. His decline has been one of the strangest narratives in modern MMA. Since the Romero fight, he must have called out Michael Bisping a million times, to complete their trilogy. Sorry, Luke, not looking good either.
That dominant win when took out Chris Weidman and was being linked to a relationship with Demi Lovato looks a long time ago now. Get well soon!
