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UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold says loss to Vitor Belfort helped him mature, welcomes rematch

You wouldn't expect to hear it from the newly minted UFC middleweight champion but Luke Rockhold is "thankful" he was brutally knocked out by Vitor Belfort in 2013.

At the time the Strikeforce champion was riding an incredible amount of hype, taking his 10-1 mixed martial arts (MMA) record up against a man who had just finished Michael Bisping via flashy head kick knockout.

It took just half a round for Belfort to repeat the feat against Rockhold, who told the Brendan Schaub "Fighter and The Kid" podcast that it was all for the best.