UFC President Dana White was ecstatic after UFC 239, stating the obvious – the event was one of the most successful in recent months. But White was also pretty serious when he chipped on the topic of Holly Holm and Luke Rockhold – both future Hall of Fame inductees.
Former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold (16-5) made his light heavyweight debut in Las Vegas this past Saturday, but the 34-years-old got stunned by Jan Blachowicz (24-8) in the second round, losing via KO.
Former bantamweight women titleholder Holly Holm (12-5) was also on the receiving end at UFC 239. The 37-years-old got TKO’d by the two-division champion Amanda Nunes (18-4) in the opening round of their championship bout.
“I think Luke Rockhold should talk about hanging it up,” White told reporters 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 skin graph 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.”
“He’s got another career that he’s actually doing well at,” White added.
“Everybody’s a f—king model, ‘I’m a model, I’m a model’ — that guy’s actually really modeling for Ralph Lauren. So good for him.”
Then the prez suggested that “The Preacher’s Daughter” should also consider leaving the field of pro mixed martial arts. For good.
“Listen, I don’t want to start going retirement crazy in here,” White said of Holm.
“You know, she has had an amazing career. She is one of the sweetest human beings you can ever meet. And if you follow her on Instagram, she trains like a beast. She’s almost 40-years-old and she’s in ridiculous shape. The things that this woman can do physically with like the rings, gymnastics and all that stuff is phenomenal.”
”She’s an incredible athlete, she’s an incredible human being. I think that she needs to take a look at, you know, what’s next for her and what she thinks – and I’m just saying that because I care about her. I care about her as a person. She’s amazing, so, I don’t know. Something we should probably talk about.”
