Luke Rockhold recently suffered a brutal mouth injury during his fight with Mike Perry at BKFC 41, causing his loss in the main event of the pay-per-view card. Although the former UFC middleweight champion is not retired, he may not return to the bare-knuckle ring after experiencing the teeth-shattering shots of his opponent. Despite giving Perry credit for the devastating shots, Rockhold expressed his disappointment that the fight had to end that way.

Rockhold acknowledged that having a beard or better mouthpiece could have extended his playing time, but unfortunately, his teeth got messed up pretty bad, hindering him from continuing the fight. Referee Dan Miragliotta waved off the fight after Rockhold signaled something was wrong with his mouth, and there were gaping cuts on his lower lip.

BKFC President David Feldman revealed that Rockhold couldn’t continue because of the damage to his teeth, which was evident in photos that showed a significant missing chunk in one of them.

Rockhold’s defeat is a setback to his post-UFC career, which started after his release from the promotion on a 1-4 losing streak. He took a three-year break from the sport after a knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 before resuming his fighting career. Notwithstanding his latest setback, he said he’s not done with fighting but intends to have some hand protection in his next match.