Dana White Urges Luke Rockhold to ‘Hang It Up’ After Suffering Broken Jaw at UFC 239

Luke Rockhold had a rough introduction to the light heavyweight division at UFC 239, to say the least.

The former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion started well enough, attacking foe Jan Blachowicz with kicks to the legs, head and body. As the bout progressed, Rockhold attempted to implement his wrestling, but he was stymied in the clinch and failed on all five of his takedown attempts.

The tide really began to turn toward the end of the opening round, when Blachowicz wobbled Rockhold with a head kick that landed just as the horn sounded. The Polish veteran capitalized in Round 2, sending his opponent to the canvas with a powerful left hook and then clinching his victory with a barrage of follow-up blows on the ground at the 1:39 mark of the period.

Rockhold has lost three of his last four contests within the Las Vegas-based promotion – all by brutal knockout. Prior to that, the California native had established himself as one of the top mixed martial artists in the world, winning 14 of 15 bouts in Strikeforce and the UFC from 2008 to 2015, a run that culminated in him winning middleweight gold with a stoppage of Chris Weidman at UFC 194.

UFC President Dana White believes Rockhold should look into pursuing other career options after his latest defeat.

“I think Luke Rockhold should talk about hanging it up,” White said at the UFC 239 post-fight press conference. “He broke his jaw tonight. So that’s the second broken jaw. He’s been knocked out viciously a few times here. Shin is all banged up. He had to have a skin [graft] and all kinds of stuff.

“He’s had a good career. He’s been a great fighter. I’d like to see him hang it up.”

One positive for Rockhold is he actually does have a successful second gig as a model, which could make the transition to a life after fighting a little easier. There are currently no indications that Rockhold is considering retirement, however.

“He’s got another career that he’s actually doing well at,” White said. “Everybody’s a f—-ing model, ‘I’m a model, I’m a model’ — that guy’s actually really modeling for Ralph Lauren. So good for him.”