Former UFC middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold, has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming bout with Sean Strickland at UFC 268 on November 6 due to a herniated disc in his back.
Rockhold shared the unfortunate news with a video posted to his Instagram story and described the extent of the injury that is forcing him out of action next month.
“There’s no easy way to really say it but the fight is off in New York,” Rockhold said (h/t MMA Fighting). “I ended up herniating a disc in my back, L4, L5, and the docs say it’s nothing I can play with. I need to do some treatment with some recovery time. Some things just aren’t meant to be. New York, motherf*cking New York. Sorry to the friends and the family and the peeps and all the people but we’ll be back. Till next time.”
Luke Rockhold is out of his fight with Sean Strickland at UFC 268 in New York due to a herniated disc in his back. (via @LukeRockhold) pic.twitter.com/OmGs93ZOCE
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) October 12, 2021
According to various outlets and reports, the promotion is still seeking a replacement opponent for Strickland to remain on the UFC's return to New York City next month. Rockhold hasn't competed since July 2019 where he was knocked out in the second round at UFC 239 by current UFC light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz.
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