On August 30, Luke Rockhold is set to make his professional boxing debut in Misfits.
The former UFC champion has been preparing to step inside the ring for some time, with Rockhold revealing that he turned down an opponent last year.
Fortunately, this decision appeared to pay off for him, with Rockhold now set to face Darren Till after a heated face-to-face encounter.
The 40-year-old achieved a lot of success inside the Octagon but after departing the UFC, he has wanted to test himself in several different rulesets.
This led him to Karate Combat where he produced a stunning knockout which showcased his striking skills.
Luke Rockhold knocked out Joe Schilling in devastating fashion at Karate Combat 45
At Karate Combat 45 last year, Luke Rockhold faced off with former kickboxing and Muay Thai fighter Joe Schilling.
Schilling held multiple titles while competing in striking-only rulesets like Bellator Kickboxing and Glory, where he is a former middleweight world championship tournament winner.
The 41-year-old is also a close friend of Joe Rogan, with the UFC commentator labelling the strikes as “one of the scariest humans alive” when reacting to a famous video of Schilling punching a man in a bar.
While Rockhold was always a well-rounded fighter in MMA, Karate Combat would seemingly be a good home for him, with his kicking in particular being a dangerous weapon.
Both men found success in the fight, with Schilling bloodying his opponent’s nose in the second round before he ended up being on the end of a big shot.
In the third round, Rockhold landed a big right hand that dropped his opponent, with several follow-up strikes earning him the finish.
Karate Combat worked out a lot better for Luke Rockhold than another route he took after leaving the UFC
Before arriving in Karate Combat for one fight, Luke Rockhold also tried his hand at bare-knuckle boxing.
The former UFC champion faced off with Mike Perry at BKFC 41 in April of 2023 but waved the fight off in the second round after an injury.
Rockhold recently slammed the sport as a whole in an interview with MMA Fighting, questioning why anyone would want to do it in the first place.
“Bare-knuckle boxing is not a fight, I realised that when I walked in and I was like, I’m not losing my F—— teeth without using everything I’ve worked for my whole life. That’s a dumb— sport… Who’s willing to lose their face for f—— nothing?”
BKFC president David Feldman scolded Rockhold in his reply to the comments, stating that he “chose to quit.”