Broken Hand Benches Strikeforce's Luke Rockhold

Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold may have spent less than 5 minutes in the cage with Keith Jardine last week, but he did some damage, both to Jardine’s career and to his own hand.

Jardine made his middleweight debut in a title shot against Rockhold at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on Jan. 7 in Las Vegas.

Rockhold felt like the UFC veteran didn’t deserve to be in such a position, and took it out on Jardine’s face. He won the fight, but Rockhold also broke his right hand in the process.

Rockhold on Tuesday posted a picture of the x-ray confirming the break to his facebook page, noting that he will be out of commission for four to six weeks.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission following the fight placed Rockhold on medical suspension until July 6 due to the suspected injury. Although his finger is broken, Rockhold won’t necessarily have to be out of commission that long, but he will have to get a doctor to clear his return to action.

There has been little talk of what’s next for the Strikeforce champion, but he threw the gauntlet down to his UFC counterparts following his destruction of Jardine.

“I always look for bigger and better things and if the UFC wants to bring in some top contenders, I’m more than welcome to welcome them in our hexagon,” said Rockhold.

Strikeforce middleweight Tim Kennedy was initially on tap to face Rockhold at the Jan. 7 event before an injury sidelined him. He is a likely candidate to be the next challenger to Rockhold upon his return.

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