"Knew you always had it in you" - Luke Rockhold confirms retirement, "happy to have finished" with Leon Edwards 

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards sent out words of encouragement to Luke Rockhold, who retired following his fight with Paulo Costa at UFC 278.

The former middleweight champion bared his heart and soul to deliver an edge-of-the-seat fight. He called an end to an illustrious MMA career in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, which was met with a thunderous reception by the 17,500 fans in attendance.

A former Strikerforce and UFC middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold retired as a pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts. He holds notable wins over revered combatants like Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, and Ronaldo Souza.

Leon Edwards, who trained with Rockhold and his team at American Kickboxing Academy while preparing for his first fight against Kamaru Usman back in December 2015, wished the American a happy retirement on Instagram.

Luke Rockhold thanked the newly crowned UFC welterweight champion for his message. He claimed that he was happy to retire on a fight card alongside the Brit:

"Thankyou champ. Knew you always had it in you and happy to have finished it with you. What a fuc**ng night."

Rockhold [left] acknowledges Edwards' [right] message on Instagram

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"If we only had more time"- Luke Rockhold calls Paulo Costa a b***h while reflecting on their fight

Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa put on a fight for the ages at UFC 278. Rockhold was tuckered out at the end of the first round and had both hands on his knees. While his body language suggested that the American was done with the fight, he dug deep with some motivation from his coaching staff.

Both fighters fought from pillar to post. In the end, it was Costa who emerged victorious.

Having had time to reflect back on the fight by now, Rockhold wished he had some more time to fight:

"Oh, if we only had more time!"

As both fighters approached the fight with reckless abandon, Rockhold screamed at Costa and hit him hard with a strong overhand right. Rockhold posted a video of the wild moment and called Costa a b***h:

"You're still a b***h"