"I did have an abortion and I did have a big break-up" - Luke Rockhold gets real about what brought him back to the UFC 

Luke Rockhold has opened up about the personal battles he went through that motivated him to return to the UFC.

Rockhold recently had a chat with Mike Bohn for MMA Junkie. While revealing deeply personal details about his life, the former UFC champion said that he had an abortion and also went through a bad break-up during his time away from the octagon.

The 37-year-old added that the two unfortunate incidents acted as motivation for him to return to fighting.

"I know it's not a popular subject right now, but I did have an abortion and I did have a big break-up... It hurt, you know. It definitely was a big turning point in realizing where my life was and where I'm going. Having a kid on the way and prepping for that and carrying the weight of a kid... it weighs on you... Having to make that decision, a lot of things just weren't right. There wasn't a lot of truth on either side and it just f**ked me up. And it made me f**king transition and it really changed my life for the better. Ever since then, I really have been sober."

Watch Luke Rockhold's interview with MMA Junkie below:

Rockhold is currently scheduled to face Paulo Costa at UFC 278 in his return fight. The card will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and 170-pound king Kamaru Usman.

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Luke Rockhold has not competed in nearly three years

Former UFC champion Luke Rockhold has been out of action for quite some time. The 37-year-old's last outing took place in July 2019. Since then, Rockhold has had various matchups scheduled, but none of them have come to fruition.

The California native's last few walks to the octagon have also not gone well for him. Rockhold has lost three out of his last four fights, with every loss coming via knockout.

The rough patch for the 37-year-old started at UFC 199 when he was knocked out by Michael Bisping in a championship fight.

Rockhold bounced back and scored an impressive TKO win against David Branch. However, he then ran into Yoel Romero, who brutally knocked out the former UFC champion at UFC 221.

The California native then went up a weight and took on Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239. The move to light heavyweight did not play out well for him as he suffered another KO defeat.

Rockhold has since been absent from action, but it appears that the 37-year-old will finally return to the octagon at UFC 278 for what appears to be one last run for UFC gold.