previous to UFC 278Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold He had a lot of important things to say about the promotion.
The disgruntled former middleweight champion took the microphone in Salt Lake City to broadcast a list of grievances about how things are going today in the UFC. Rockhold has hit everything from fighter pay to nightly bonus structure fights and more. One of the main points that stuck out with UFC President Dana White, was his perception of the health care of fighters.
“These guys don’t know what they’re doing, and they just let Dana run the show and suppress the sport,” Rockhold told reporters, including MMA Junkie on Wednesday’s media briefing. “They need to grow. This impressive thing has to grow together. Our lives are on the f*cking line. Healthcare needs to be taken care of. Our f*cking health needs to be taken care of. I haven’t been taken care of.”
White heard the comments from Rockhold, and contested his claim. Furthermore, the UFC president explained that the promotion is working on long-term health care for its fighters when the days of competing within the Octagon are over.
“This is something we’ve been working on since day one,” White said. TSN. “While they fight here, they are well taken care of, and so is Luke Rockhold.”
The former champion has dealt with a number of health issues throughout his career. Prior to UFC 199, Rockhold admitted that he was training with a torn MCL. He kept competing anyway and lost to Michael Bisping. After the fight, his knee got worse and I got a stem cell procedurewhich eventually led to the cancellation of the main UFC Fight Night 101 fight against Ronaldo Sousa.
Rockhold will be in the cage to face Yoel Romero for the vacant middleweight title in early 2018. However, a few months later, A ‘nightmare’ injury to his surgically repaired leg happened, forcing him to withdraw from a UFC 230 match against Chris Weidman.
Rockhold’s attempt to return to action was halted in 2021 when he was forced out of a UFC 268 match against Sean Stickland Due to herniated discs L4 and L5 in his back. According to White, during all his troubles, he did not have to worry about his health.
“Luke Rockhold was very concerned about the issues he had here,” White said. “I don’t give any health insurance plan to you, they will not cover the things we covered for Luke Rockhold when he was going through his stuff. Everything he said was utter and utter nonsense.”
While White is unable to provide a timeline for achieving the long-term healthcare provision goal, he stresses that it has been a focus for promotion since becoming president 21 years ago.
“Everyone who fights here gets incredible healthcare,” White said. “Incredible healthcare. I mean, we don’t sew people even with regular doctors. If it’s bad enough, we send them to plastic surgeons to have them sew.”
Rockhold returns to action at UFC 278 to face Paulo Costa in the co-main event at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie Event Center for UFC 278.
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