Luke Rockhold scored his first win since 2017 in his Karate Combat debut on Saturday.
Stepping into the main event spotlight at KC 45 in Dubai, the former UFC middleweight champion squared off with Joe Schilling, a 17-year veteran of combat sports who had previously found success under the GLORY Kickboxing and Bellator MMA bouts.
In the opening round, Schilling put pressure on Rockhold early but was noticeably gun-shy as Rockhold continued to pepper his opponent with a bevy of kicks. Picking up the pace in round two, Schilling came out swinging from the get-go, but Rockhold used his well-rounded skill set to clinch up and repeatedly send ‘Stitch ’em Up’ to the mat.
With both fighters looking exhausted going into the third round, it was just a matter of time before one of them made a mistake. As it turns out, that would be Schilling. Near the halfway point of the round, Rockhold landed …