It’s been three years since Luke Rockhold final fought in MMA, and there’s an opportunity he’ll by no means compete underneath these guidelines once more.
With a boxing match booked towards fellow UFC veteran Darren Until on Aug. 30 at Misfits Boxing 22 in England, the previous UFC middleweight champion has discovered different alternatives that don’t require him to do MMA anymore. Since leaving the UFC, Rockhold has competed in bare-knuckle preventing — an expertise he didn’t take pleasure in — and a Karate Fight struggle towards Joe Schilling earlier than reserving his boxing debut with Until.
Whereas he’ll by no means say by no means, Rockhold doesn’t see a necessity to return to MMA except there’s a suggestion on the desk that’s too good to refuse.
“I don’t need to do something,” Rockhold advised MMA Combating. “I do effectively. I’ve bought loads of good investments, I’ve bought some cash. I’m not wealthy by any means so it’s get wealthy or die attempting. That’s what life is. That’s what the sport is. However I really like preventing. Everyone knows what’s on the desk. Beat a man like Darren, you set your self within the operating for the massive fights. There’s massive, massive, fights proper right here.
“To cross up these massive fights [after] successful this, why the f*ck would I am going again to MMA? There must be an enormous alternative and an enormous motive. There must be title implications and there must be massive cash.”
Previous to his boxing match towards Until coming collectively in August, Rockhold was one in all quite a few UFC veterans signed to compete within the World Battle League, a promotion constructed round a group idea with dozens of excessive profile signings after initially launching. GFL deliberate on a two-night, two occasion debut in Could, however each playing cards had been cancelled and the group has all however disappeared now with out ever holding a single occasion.
None of that basically got here as a shock to Rockhold, who signed with GFL and booked a struggle towards outdated rival Chris Weidman earlier than the promotion successfully went stomach up. Rockhold says he went into that take care of his eyes huge open, however appreciated that GFL was nonetheless paying him a stipend even when he by no means really fought there.
“I used to be getting paid,” Rockhold stated. “I used to be taking good paychecks month-to-month. I sort of knew, we as my administration group talked and this factor wasn’t actually going to come back to fruition.
“You’re speaking seven-figure paychecks for those who have by no means been UFC champions. Multiples. That’s not a sustainable enterprise. You possibly can’t maintain that up. I used it as motivation to coach and receives a commission and to remain in form for these alternatives. I sort of anticipated what was to occur.”
In response to Rockhold, all of his GFL paychecks cleared so he has no complaints in that division even when he all the time had doubts the group would get off the bottom.
That’s why he by no means appeared in any promotional materials a lot much less the “GFL draft” that positioned all of the fighters on varied groups based mostly across the globe.
“There wasn’t one dialog I had with my managers that wasn’t skeptical,” Rockhold stated. “Simply benefit from the cash, do that, try this. I didn’t even actually need to do interviews as a result of I simply knew it was bullshit.
“They’d that massive launch factor with the draft, they tried to get me on there. I used to be like this isn’t it. Folks had been hopeful. Folks noticed these massive, massive paychecks. They only wished to consider it was actual however individuals must have extra actuality.”
Whereas GFL got here and went with out holding a single occasion thus far, Rockhold is aware of fighters want extra alternatives similar to how he spent an enormous a part of his profession competing in Strikeforce.
That stated, the 40-year-old veteran has no illusions in the case of the issue concerned with stepping into the struggle enterprise and truly sustaining long-term success.
“It’s a tricky enterprise for positive,” Rockhold stated. “The extra alternatives is all the time higher for positive. GFL, you simply want somebody extra who’s bought their shit collectively. You possibly can’t be too formidable. You possibly can’t come out of the gates throwing cash round like that when the market’s not doing effectively.”
0 Feedback
