Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is not looking to make a return to MMA anytime soon, as he has his sights set on another combat sport.
The MMA icon will be entering the boxing ring to face ex-UFC star Darren Till at Misfits Boxing 22 and plans on cashing out on the fight. Since leaving UFC, Rockold has taken on more of a freelance role and has fought under different promotions like BKFC–which he hates–, Karate Combat and now Misfits Boxing. Rockhold plans on remaining a free agent and fighting under different banners and making a buck from it.
While he might not be as deadly as he was in his prime–he is now 40– Rockhold can still hold his own against any opponent. However, for now, he is content in pursuing other combat sports and has no plan to return to MMA except a mouth-watering offer opens up.
“I don’t have to do anything,” Rockhold told MMA Fighting. “I do well. I’ve got a lot of good investments, and I’ve got some money. I’m not rich by any means, so it’s get rich or die trying. That’s what life is. That’s what the game is. But I love fighting. We all know what’s on the table. Beat a guy like Darren, and you put yourself in the running for the big fights. There are big, big fights right here.
“To pass up those big fights [after] winning this, why the f*ck would I go back to MMA? There would have to be a big opportunity and a big reason. There would have to be title implications, and there would have to be big money.”
Before his boxing match against Till, which is scheduled for August, Rockhold was one of numerous UFC veterans signed to compete in the Global Fight League (GFL). GFL planned on a two-night, two-event debut in May, but both cards were cancelled, and the organisation has all but disappeared now without ever holding a single event.
None of that really came as a shock to Rockhold, who signed with GFL and booked a fight against old rival Chris Weidman before the promotion effectively went sour. Rockhold says he went into that deal open-minded, but appreciated that GFL was still paying him a stipend even if he never actually fought there.
Rockhold disclosed that all of his GFL paychecks cleared, so he has no complaints, but it was quite disappointing that the organisation never got off the ground.
“I was getting paid,” Rockhold said. “I was taking nice paychecks monthly. I kind of knew, we as my management team talked, and this thing wasn’t really going to come to fruition.
“You’re talking seven-figure paychecks for people that have never been UFC champions. Multiples. That’s not a sustainable business. You can’t keep that up. I used it as motivation to train and get paid and to stay in shape for these opportunities. I kind of expected what was to happen.”
“There wasn’t one conversation I had with my managers that wasn’t sceptical,” Rockhold said. “Just enjoy the money, do this, do that. I didn’t even really want to do interviews because I just knew it was bullshit.
“They had that big launch thing with the draft, they tried to get me on there. I was like this is not it. People were hopeful. People saw these big, big paychecks. They just wanted to believe it was real, but people need to have more reality.”
The 40-year-old veteran understands that sustaining a long-term fighting career can be quite difficult. It takes more than just funding, but a definite strategy that can stand the test of time, like what UFC and some other promotions have been able to accomplish.
“It’s a tough business for sure,” Rockhold said. “The more opportunities are always better for sure. GFL, you just need someone more who’s got their shit together. You can’t be too ambitious. You can’t come out of the gates throwing money around like that when the market’s not doing well.”
