| Luke Rockhold | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 17, 1984 Santa Cruz, California, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) |
| Division | Middleweight |
| Reach | 77 in (196 cm) |
| Style | Kickboxing, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Fighting out of | San Jose, California |
| Team | American Kickboxing Academy |
| Rank | brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 9 |
| Wins | 8 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 1 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Luke Rockhold (born October 17, 1984 in Santa Cruz, California) is an American mixed martial artist. He is the current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.
Rockhold holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo.[1]
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Luke Rockhold comes from an athletic family, growing up in Santa Cruz, Luke and his brother pro surfer, Matt Rockhold surfed their local breaks together. His father, Steve Rockhold, was a professional basketball player in Europe and with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.[2]
Luke started training in Judo at 6-years-old but quit upon turning ten.[3] When he entered the seventh grade, he joined his school's wrestling team and stuck with the sport all through high school while taking jiu-jitsu classes.[4]
Rockhold tried wrestling for a local community college but felt the sport wasn't for him, instead he took jiu-jitsu on full time.[4] After winning a few BJJ tournaments, he decided to look into mixed martial arts. A few of Rockhold's friends convinced him to come down and train with the American Kickboxing Academy and he did.[4]
In July 2007, Rockhold made his professional debut against Mike Martinez for the Melee on the Mountain promotion. Rockhold dominated the fight and won with an armbar submission, midway in the first round. He had his second fight for the promotion in November 2007. It was not as successful as the first as Rockhold was defeated by Tony Rubalcava via technical knockout.
Up and coming promotion, Strikeforce called and offered Rockhold a fight on their Strikeforce: Young Guns II card. Rockhold looked impressive in his debut, forcing his opponent to submit from punches. Strikeforce impressed with his performance, decided to give him another fight. The second fight took place on the Strikeforce: Destruction card, where Rockhold won via submission. At Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz, Rockhold won his third consecutive fight.
Rockhold was given a step up in competition when he fought Cory Devela at Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg. Even though he was the underdog, Rockhold won the fight in only 30 seconds with his third rear naked choke submission in a row.
At Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Evangelista, Rockhold defeated The Ultimate Fighter 7 contestant, Jesse Taylor. The fight improved his record to 5–0 under the Strikeforce banner.
In February 2010, Rockhold defeated another Ultimate Fighter 7 Finalist, Paul Bradley and won via TKO from knees to the body. The fight took place at Strikeforce Challengers: Kaufman vs. Hashi in San Jose, California. With the win, Rockhold hopes to fight against tougher and more well known fighters.[5] Besides the win, Rockhold was announced for the EA Sports MMA video game.[6]
Rockhold was scheduled to fight Matt Lindland at Strikeforce: San Jose but pulled out a few weeks before the fight due to a shoulder injury.[7]
Rockhold was expected to face former title contender, Tim Kennedy, at Strikeforce 32 on March 5, 2011.[8] However, for unknown reasons, Rockhold was removed from the bout.
After more than a year and a half hiatus from fighting due to injuries, Rockhold stepped into the cage to fight Middleweight Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza on September 10, 2011.[9] He won the fight by unanimous decision to become the new Strikeforce Middleweight champion.
For his first title defense, Rockhold is now scheduled to face Keith Jardine for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on January 7, 2012.[10]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 9 matches | 8 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| By submission | 6 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 8–1 | Ronaldo Souza | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov | September 10, 2011 | 5 | 5:00 | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | Won the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–1 | Paul Bradley | TKO (knees to the body) | Strikeforce Challengers: Kaufman vs. Hashi | February 26, 2010 | 1 | 2:24 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Win | 6–1 | Jesse Taylor | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Evangelista | November 6, 2009 | 1 | 3:42 | Fresno, California, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | Cory Devela | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg | June 19, 2009 | 1 | 0:30 | Kent, Washington, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Buck Meredith | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz | April 11, 2009 | 1 | 4:07 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Nik Theotikos | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Strikeforce: Destruction | November 21, 2008 | 1 | 3:06 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Josh Neal | Submission (punches) | Strikeforce: Young Guns II | February 1, 2008 | 1 | 1:49 | San Jose, California, United States | Strikeforce Debut. |
| Loss | 1–1 | Tony Rubalcava | TKO (punches) | Melee on the Mountain | November 6, 2007 | 1 | 2:46 | Friant, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Mike Martinez | Submission (armbar) | Melee on the Mountain | July 24, 2007 | 1 | 2:44 | Friant, California, United States |
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