1/7/2012 10:00PST UPDATE: Luke Rockhold knocks Keith Jardine out 4:26 into round #1. Come on bro…who’s next? Tim Kennedy? Jacare rematch? Luke needs to be called the StrikeForce Street Sweeper. BOOM!

Yahoo Sports: 

Rockhold took care of business easily, waiting out the wild style of Jardine to land a huge right and followed it up with 17 more unanswered shots to force the referee to stop the fight at 4:26 of the first round.

The champ was happy to win, but had little interest in calling out Strikeforce’s No. 1 contender Tim Kennedy. Minutes after the victory, Showtime’s Mauro Ranallo asked about Rockhold defending his title against the Strikeforce roster.

“I like fighting and I like getting paid,” Rockhold said then hesitated. “Right now, all the best guys in the world at middleweight are in the UFC. Those are the guys I want. I want to fight the best in the world. I think they should bring over some top contenders. I believe I am one of top guys and I want to take on the best.”

Defending Srikeforce Middleweight World Champ and SC Family member Luke Rockhold facing off against Keith Jardine for the Main Event on SHOwtime Saturday night. It is a FREE PREVIEW weekend for SHOwtime so there is not a reason in the world why you wouldn’t watch at 10pm PST as SC Family Member Luke Rockhold goes on to defend his title and represent! 

SC Family Luke Rockhold doin work son!

Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine Saturday Janruary 7th at 10pm PST Comcast Channel 576.

SC Family and Strikeforce Middleweight World Champ MMA record 8 - 1

In a fight that will go down as one of the most intense bouts in a long time. Luke Rockhold from Santa Cruz California defeated Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza after 5 rounds of body strikes, quick jabs and leg kicks to become the new Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. SC Family member Sam Diggedy of The Morning Madhouse and DK hung out downtown Motiv and watched with half of Santa Cruz as the fight started and the room erupted in hoots and screams.

Rockhold had a warm up round then got his groove and began to pick apart Jacare. 5 rounds of Jacare backing up and blocking what seemed to be 100 kicks from Rockhold, he also failed to take the fight to the ground. After a unanimous decision an emotional Rockhold stated “Thank you to my  family and my sponsors, I couldn’t have done it without them.” he continued “I train with the best fighters in the best camp, thank you to my corner for everything.” 

Yeah Luke, super stoked to be with you since the beginning, you make us proud! Click here to read Santa Cruz Patch article about Luke Rockhold.

SC Family Luke Rockhold Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and the belt with DK

SC Family member Luke Rockhold has been an outstanding MMA fighter at 7 and 1 he is getting his chance at the Strike Force Middleweight Championship title. Click here to read Santa Cruz Patch article, come down to Motiv in downtown Santa Cruz to watch the fight or watch tonight on Showtime.

Jacare vs Luke Rockhold

Luke Rockhold takes the win

Article below from MMAWeekly.com

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Damon Martin

SC Family Luke Rockhold fights September 10th

Six straight wins have earned American Kickboxing Academy middleweight Luke Rockhold a title shot against Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza on September 10.

The date for the fight was confirmed toMMAWeekly.com by sources close to the match-up on Sunday. Rockhold also announced the fight via hisTwitter account.

“I feel healthy, I feel ready, and I feel I have all the tools to take his belt. It’s on,” Rockhold wrote.

Rockhold and Souza were rumored to meet on the July 30 fight card featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson, but the bout will now shift to later date.

MMAWeekly.com first reported the Sept. 10 Strikeforce fight card with the announcement of the Josh Thomson vs. Maximo Blanco fight that will also take place on the show.

Rockhold (7-1) will fight for the title after spending more than a year off from the sport dealing with several injuries. Prior to being on the sidelines, Rockhold had won his last six fights in a row, all by first-round stoppage.

Ronald “Jacare” Souza (14-2) returns to action for the first time since defeating Robbie Lawler to defend his title in January. Souza will look to make his second successful title defense when he squares off against Rockhold in September.

While the fight card has been slated for Sept. 10, no venue or location has been announced or secured by Strikeforce officials at this time. More information and fights for the card are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Luke Rockhold

Bad Ass through and through..Santa Cruz till the end. Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop is more than proud to have Luke Rockhold as a member of our Family. Currently dominating the Strikeforce Ranks, Luke Rockhold is a force to be reckoned with, not only in MMA but in the water or in the skate park. Believe it. Check his EA Game debut just below as Luke Rockhold is wearing the SC Grunge T-Shirt!

Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop is selling Strikeforce Tickets for Luke Rockhold so click here for Strikeforce Tickets or click the image below. Buy online pick up in store 912 41st Ave Santa Cruz Ca.

HP Pavilion Strikeforce Seating Chart Rockhold vs. Lindland

Strikeforce returns home to San Jose with the Grudge Match you’ve been waiting for. Rockstar Energy Drink and Strikeforce present Diaz vs. Noons II – Live at HP Pavilion at San Jose on Saturday, October 9 – 7:00PM; LIVE on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). In a rematch 3 years in the making, this epic night of world-class mixed martial arts features Strikeforce’s World Welterweight Champion and the bad boy of M-M-A, Nick Diaz, when he seeks to avenge his last loss against one of the most prolific strikers in the business and the last man to defeat him, K.J. Noons!

Also on the card, Sarah Kaufman puts her Strikeforce Women’s World Welterweight title on the line against the dangerous Marloes Coenen and Santa Cruz’s rising-star, Luke Rockhold, makes the jump from the Strikeforce Challengers series to the big show when he takes on M-M-A veteran, Matt “The Law” Lindland, in a middleweight collision!

As the holidays approach its hard to forget that 1 in 4 kids in Santa Cruz County are going hungry. Grind Out Hunger is the charity we started and we support it 100%. 2009 over 130,000 pounds of food was raised to help feed hungry children in Santa Cruz County. 2010 we want to double that to 250,000 pounds and we are 500 pounds closer.

Tarp Surfing legends Homer Henard, Omar Etcheverry, Chris Killen Seth Migdail, Dana “SkimShady” and DK pull some major Tarp Kegs to raise money/food for Grind Out Hunger special thanks to Timmy of Aloha Island Grille for the killah grinds!!! The Chesters for the video production and Black Tide for the song!

Special appearances by Luke Rockhold, Bud Freitas, Kyle Thierman, FujiTV (from Japan), Seth Migdail, Tyler Fox and many many more that made the day seriously out of control!!!

Make sure you keep an eye out for the Skateboard Ramp Donation Station as it makes its way around the county. Here is a little video made for us by The Chesters with some Black Tide music…enjoy and get involved!

Grind Out Hunger Skateboard Donation Station

Grind Out Hunger Sponsors 2010

Luke Rockhold MMA Strikeforce Fighter lays some serious ping pong serves on Bud Freitas for the win at Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop. Both of these guys are SC Family check out Luke Rockhold here and Bud Freitas here listen up as Homer Henard is in the background…HEY KIDS!!!

In case you couldn’t go….but still wanted to see what you missed….

We will be streaming it LIVE from the Hippodrome in Monterey as SC Family Sam Diggedy and crew rip the roof off and make this the biggest party of the year…join Showbiz, RickyDanny, Shakes, Luke Rockhold and more as we wish Sam Diggedy a Happy Birthday!!! Be on the look around 10pm as we anticipate the biggest party of the year to be going off till the cows come home….WHAT?!!!!

When Luke was being asked what was he really looking forward to in his next fight…he said “To make it out of the 1st round…just kidding”. Luke Rockhold is whitehot right now, definitely “one to watch” as he hands himself another victory in the 1st round of Strike Force Challenger Series held at the San Jose Civic Center. Even before the night started, all eyes were on Luke, and there was quite a few of the boys from Santa Cruz in the crowd. Fight starts, Luke is immediately throwing head kicks and striking…Paul Bradley never knew what hit him. Luke landed the 1st of multiple devastating blows to send Paul Bradley reeling backwards and into the cage, like a lion to its prey, Luke would pounce and ground and pound. Finally 2/3 of the way into round one, Luke once again throwing kick after kick, strikes Bradley and finally drops him only to finish him off. Rockhold takes off on a victory lap around the ring and throws a lipper on the octagon as realizes his accomplishment. The video speaks for itself, watch and enjoy.

Here are a couple of stories from last night:

MMA Fighting Stances

Sherdog

Luke Rockhold added to EA Sports MMA video game