Luke Rockhold

Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist.

He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions.

He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion.

A two-time world champion, Rockhold also won the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.

Rockhold was born on October 17, 1984, in Santa Cruz, California, from an athletic family.

Growing up, Luke and his older brother, pro-surfer Matt Rockhold, surfed their local breaks together.

His father was a professional basketball player in Europe and his mother was an avid tennis player.

Luke started training in judo when he was 6 years old but quit upon turning ten.

When he entered the seventh grade, he joined his school's wrestling team and stuck with the sport all throughout his time at Soquel High School while taking jiu-jitsu classes.

Rockhold's great grandfather was a full blood Native American.

He is also of German, Irish and English descent.

Rockhold tried wrestling for a local community college but decided to take jiu-jitsu on full-time.

After winning a few BJJ tournaments, he decided to enter mixed martial arts.

In 2006, a friend invited Rockhold to train at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California.

His raw talent and kicking displays immediately caught the eye of AKA head coach Javier Mendez, who touted Rockhold as a potential future champion.

In July 2007, Rockhold made his professional debut against Mike Martinez for the Melee on the Mountain promotion.

Rockhold dominated the fight and won via armbar submission midway through the first round.

In his second fight for the promotion, in November 2007, Rockhold was defeated by Tony Rubalcava via TKO.

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.

Impressed with his performance, Strikeforce decided to give him another fight.

The second fight took place on the Strikeforce: Destruction card, which 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 going into the fight, he won that fight in just 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 (knees to the body).

The fight took place at Strikeforce Challengers: Kaufman vs. Hashi in San Jose, California.

With the win, Rockhold hoped to fight against tougher and well-known fighters.

In addition to the win, Rockhold was announced as a playable character for the EA Sports MMA video game.

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.

Rockhold was expected to face former title contender, Tim Kennedy, at Strikeforce 32; 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 Strikeforce Middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza on September 10, 2011.

He won the fight via unanimous decision (50–45, 48–47, and 48–47) to become the new Strikeforce Middleweight champion.

For his first title defense, Rockhold faced Keith Jardine at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on January 7, 2012.

Rockhold won the fight via TKO in the first round.

He defended the title twice and was the last man to hold the belt before Strikeforce was officially absorbed by the UFC in 2013.

Rockhold is also an avid surfer, skateboarder,

and a professional model, having modeled at the New York Fashion Week and as the face of Ralph Lauren's "Polo Blue" fragrance.