Remember that time Luke Rockhold was on a dating show?

This article is part of a new series by FanSided MMA honoring milestones and memories from the past. Watch for a new flashback feature on Thursdays.

The UFC has had its fair share of fighters participating in other non-MMA shows. This allows crossovers and opens up the fighters to entirely new audiences. Over the years, we have seen this happen quite a few times, including the time that Tito Ortiz was a special guest at the Chef's Table on Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen show. One of the most forgotten-about moments was when we saw a UFC fighter appear on such a show, and this was when Luke Rockhold appeared on a dating show.

Rockhold is a former UFC middleweight champion and, prior to that, he also served as the final Strikeforce middleweight champion before they were absorbed by the UFC. Rockhold is one of the most respected and recognizable names within the sport of mixed martial arts, and that has been primarily built up during his tenure within the UFC. One of the most important periods in Rockhold's career was the year of 2015, which is when he ascended to the apex of the UFC. 2015 was also the year that brought about an awkward situation, that has definitely still stayed with him up until now.

UFC 194 took place on December 12, 2015, and it is remembered as the event where Conor McGregor delivered the fastest knockout in a UFC title bout against Jose Aldo to unify the featherweight championship. The co-main event of that card also saw Rockhold defeat Chris Weidman via a fourth-round ground and pound to capture the middleweight championship. Heading into that bout, Rockhold was riding a four-fight winning streak and, having defeated Lyoto Machida via a second-round submission earlier on in the year, 2015 was already quite the year for him. That same year, "The Millionaire Matchmaker", which was a dating show, produced its final season.

The dating show's premise was to match single wealthy people with compatible dates. It was hosted by Patti Stanger, who was the owner of the "Millionaire's Club" dating service. Rockhold appeared on episode six of that season, which the episode premiering on January 22, 2015. The episode also featured The Real Housewives of Miami's Marysol Patton, who it appears Rockhold was supposed to be paired with. Rockhold's time on the dating show certainly drew a lot of attention but it was for all the wrong reasons.

Luke Rockhold on a dating show

On "The Millionaire Matchmaker" Rockhold was introduced as a UFC fighter who was a bit of a player. He was ultimately set up on a date with a lady named Kara, who was a mixologist. Providing feedback to Stanger, Kara described the date and Rockhold and she also recounted a distasteful and rather awkward moment between them. Rockhold had, at some point during the date, asked Kara an inappropriate question, which was "Do you spit or swallow?"

In a short clip available on YouTube, one can see Rockhold and Kara's date took place on a yacht. Rockhold was seen getting quite physical with his date, as he was asking her the question. In a different clip (also on YouTube), Stanger is seen kicking Rockhold off the show saying to him, "You may be a world champion of fighting but I will knock you the f**k out because I'm the world champion of love." Although it was a really brief appearance on the show, it was one of the most awkward and memorable of the entire show.

Since then, Rockhold has defended himself in interviews stating that the inappropriate question was a scripted joke. He even suggested that the editors dubbed it in the scene after recording. Regardless, viewers had mixed reactions to the moment, and it certainly put the fighter in a different (more awkward?) light for many.

This was not the only time that Rockhold deviated from in-cage fighting though. Rockhold is a surfer, skateboarder, and even a professional model. With his modelling career, he has served as the face of Ralph Lauren's 'Polo Blue' fragrance. He has even modelled at New York Fashion Week before.

Although Rockhold did not have success on "The Millionaire Matchmaker", he did soon find himself in a public relationship. Rockhold dated singer and actress Demi Lovato for a few months between late 2016 and early 2017. The pair were seen attending UFC 205 together, which took place at the Madison Square Garden in New York. The two even got matching tattoos but they ultimately decided to separate for reasons that remain unknown.

Rockhold's love life has seen him still not settle down but, by the looks of it, he still might be active in the dating field. For now, Rockhold remains retired in MMA. However, he is currently signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and Karate Combat. In April 2024, Rockhold defeated Joe Schilling in a karate match, and that was his last active competition (at time of writing).