In the dying moments of his final UFC fight, former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold rubbed his blood-soaked face all over that of his opponent, Paulo Costa. That image will forever be attached to Rockhold’s legacy, and he explained his thinking in the moment on a recent episode of The MMA Hour.
“It was just a ‘f*** you, you’re a b****.’ I remember just talking back and forth and just, when somebody is point fighting and someone’s going for the kill, that’s the difference. And I felt like I was there to kill or be killed, and he was out there trying to get by. If more time exists — I rushed it, I f****** should’ve had that mount position and it would’ve been over. You know how that world works. I just rushed into that one and fell behind, and kept putting myself behind and having to dig myself back up.
Rockhold Reveals The Motivation Behind “F*** You” Blood Smear
But I just felt like I was in there with a lesser man and I wanted to show him: ‘You’re my b****.’”Although Luke Rockhold lost the fight via decision, he endured three brutal rounds, consistently delivering thunderous blows to Costa’s head even when he looked exhausted and defeated. Although Costa bloodied Rockhold’s nose early in the fight, Luke Rockhold claims the punch actually fixed a long-standing issue.
“Honestly, he broke my nose back into place. He kept f****** [pissing me] off because he broke my nose and then he kept hitting me on my nose, and I could feel the f****** thing just crunching in my face, and I was like, ‘F***!’ That was really kind of pissing me off the most. It got me back into that fight. You’ve got to f****** piss me off, I guess.
It was definitely off [beforehand], my nose was off, and I think he even took down some of the bump, you know, from the side angle,” Rockhold added. “So he straightened me up and he took off my ridge, and so I was like, ‘F***, I’ve got a Hollywood nose job.’”
Before the fight and throughout the event itself, Rockhold and Costa were at each other’s throats. Now, however, the former champ has calmed down. “There’s no animosity — I just don’t think much of him as a person.
And I think that fight, him getting his hand raised, tells the tale of who we are. I think people could see who I am, at least. I’ll take it. Whatever.” What was your reaction to the bloody smear? Let us know in the comments.
