"One, two, maybe three years down the line"- Luke Rockhold changes his tune about his retirement; talks about a potential comeback

Following his all-out war against Paulo Costa at UFC 278 last month, Luke Rockhold announced his retirement from the sport. Since then, he has backtracked on his decision, under certain conditions.

Despite the less than impressive end to his career, the 37-year-old should be considered one of the greatest middleweights of his generation. He was seemingly unstoppable from 2014 to 2015 and has put on some masterclass performances in the octagon. His domination of Chris Weidman is arguably the most notable.

Addressing his retirement speech, Luke Rockhold assured fans that for the time being, he's done with the sport of mixed martial arts. However, he did mention that if he is able to get his body healthy, there's nothing that would keep him from competing once again.

"I want to retire. I want to work on life... I want to get my f*****g body together, get my healthy together. Health is wealth ultimately and my body is f*****g deteriorating and fighting doesn't help that. I want to get my body back, but I'll never close the door. Once I get my health fully back and I get my body where I want and I start performing and not hurting myself, maybe I'll make another run at this thing. One, two, three years down the line. I honestly feel like I'm only getting better."

Injuries have plagued the veteran's career for the last few years. If he can manage to stay healthy and put in the work, we may see the former UFC middleweight champion return to the octagon in the future.

Check out what Luke Rockhold had to say about his retirement announcement in the video below:

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Should Luke Rockhold ever come back to MMA?

While he is beginning to hit an age where competing in MMA seems pointless, Luke Rockhold proved that he still has something left in the tank after pushing the #6 ranked UFC middleweight to the limit during their clash last month.

The American Kickboxing Academy athlete could return to the octagon once he's healthy. With that in mind, it may be in his best interest to fight other combatants his own age as opposed to younger contenders.

If given the green light, Rockhold could even leave the UFC and would make a fantastic addition to any other MMA promotion. Locking horns with Gegard Mousasi in Bellator or trying his luck at winning the $1million tournament held by PFL could help him find his love for the sport once again.