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Luke Rockhold: 'He’s Just Going Through the Motions'

Originally posted on Dice City Sports | By Robert LaMar | Last updated Dec 30, 2025 9:18 AM ET

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold doesn’t believe there’s anything left to salvage in Tyron Woodley’s fighting career. Woodley’s latest setback came last Friday, when he suffered a TKO loss to Anderson Silva in a boxing bout at the Kaseya Center. The defeat dropped Woodley to 0–3 in professional boxing and extended his overall skid across combat sports to seven consecutive losses, including four straight in MMA.

Rockhold, who shared plenty of history with Woodley during their UFC careers, didn’t mince words when asked about the performance.

“That was what I thought it would be,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “Tyron’s not there to fight anymore. He’s not really conscious in fighting.

“Tyron’s still my boy, but he’s just sleep fighting these days, you know what I mean? You have to be able to consciously see punches and throw punches, and he’s just not there in life anymore.”

While Rockhold stressed there was no personal animosity behind his comments, his assessment painted a grim picture of Woodley’s current state as a competitor.

Luke Rockhold weighs in on Tyron Woodley’s loss to Anderson Silva

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A Long Fall From the Top

Woodley was once one of the most dominant welterweights in UFC history. His last victory in any combat sport came in September 2018, when he submitted Darren Till to retain the UFC welterweight title for the fourth time.

Since then, the decline has been steep. Woodley lost the belt to Kamaru Usman and followed that defeat with additional losses to Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington, and Vicente Luque in MMA before attempting to reinvent himself in boxing a move that has yet to yield success.

Questions About What Comes Next

At 42 years old, Woodley’s future in combat sports appears increasingly uncertain. Rockhold’s comments echo what many fans and analysts have quietly wondered: whether Woodley is still fighting out of competitive fire, or simply continuing out of habit.

For a former champion who once ruled the welterweight division with explosive power and confidence, the contrast is stark and uncomfortable.

As Rockhold bluntly suggested, the issue may no longer be about skills or matchups, but whether Tyron Woodley still has the instinct or the desire to truly fight at all.

This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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