Luke Rockhold put on a gutsy performance against Paulo Costa, but one couldn’t help but notice how tired the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion was during the fight.
Rockhold admits that the high altitude of Salt Lake City definitely played a factor in his defeat along with the ultra-conditioned Costa taking him down and breaking his nose in the first round. He was also coming into the fight off a three-year layoff and nursing several injuries to boot.
“I think the altitude definitely played a factor,” Rockhold, who lost to Costa via unanimous decision, told Ariel Helwani during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour (h/t MMA News).