Luke Rockhold took a shot and he missed but he doesn’t seem too down on himself after falling to Colby Covington in the RAF 5 main event this past Saturday night.
The former UFC middleweight champion fell by technical fall with a 12-0 score but considering he’s never been a wrestler, he was already fighting an uphill battle going against a former Division I All-American like Covington. Despite a dominant performance, Covington still praised Rockhold for taking the chance to face him and showing off
strength and flexibility during the match that ended inside the first two periods.
While any loss is a tough pill to swallow, Rockhold wasn’t too down on himself in his first statement addressing the match from RAF 5.
“Compete, challenge myself, get in shape, learn a new sport and get paid with no risk,” Rockhold wrote on Instagram.
Wrestling is the latest sport that Rockhold has tried lately after he retired from competing in the UFC but then made his return to action for a bare-knuckle fight against Mike Perry in BKFC. Rockhold also scored a knockout win over Joe Schilling in his lone appearance in Karate Combat.
More recently, Rockhold tried his hand at boxing but suffered a brutal knockout loss to Darren Till in Misfits. Afterwards, Rockhold hinted that his combat sports career could be nearing an end because he just couldn’t absorb damage like he did when he was younger.
That said, Rockhold wasn’t risking nearly as much in his wrestling match because he ultimately just had to fend off takedowns and throws from Covington without taking punches.
Rockhold didn’t address if he planned to compete at RAF again or perhaps if he’ll add yet another sport to his resume when he returns to action in 2026. To date, he still hasn’t booked a grappling match recently so perhaps that’s next stop on Rockhold’s bingo card.
