Luke Rockhold

Bio:
Luke Rockhold (born Luke Skyler Rockhold on October 17, 1984 in Santa Cruz, California) is an American mixed martial artist. Luke grew up in the Bay Area of Santa Cruz, learning how to surf on the local breaks and training in judo when he was 6 years old. Luke joined his school’s wrestling team in seventh grade and took up jiu-jitsu. When he lost interest in wrestling during college, he switched to jiu-jitsu full time. After winning a few BJJ tournaments, he tried his hand at mixed martial arts, training in the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose. Luke made his MMA debut for the Melee on the Mountain domination, willing via armbar submission. He joined Strikeforce in 2008 winning five straight matches. He took a break from fighting due to injuries, and he returned in 2011 to win the middleweight title from Ronaldo Douza. When Strikeforce closed in 2013, Luke was brought over to UFC. He lost his first match against Victor Belfort. He returned to his winning ways in 2014, knocking out Costas Philippou, submitting Tim Boetsch, and choking out Michael Bisping. This led to his shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship, and he defeated Chris Weidman to win the title at UFC 194 in 2015. When defending the title at UFC 199, Luke lost in a shocking upset as Michael Bisping won via knockout.

Best Known For:
Luke Rockhold is best known as a professional MMA fighter, competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion.

Personal Life:
Luke comes from a family of athletes. His brother, Matt Rockhold, is a professional surfer and his father was a professional basketball player in Europe. In 2016, Luke was romantically linked to Demi Lovato, following her breakup from her boyfriend of six years, Wilmer Valderrama.