Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is set to make his bare-knuckle boxing debut against Mike Perry at BKFC 41, with a one-fight contract that offers freedom for other opportunities.
Luke Rockhold, the former UFC middleweight champ, had initial doubts when Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) approached him with a free agent offer. However, after looking deeper into the deal, he realized what BKFC was truly proposing: freedom. Rockhold is set to make his bare-knuckle boxing debut on April 29 against Mike Perry in the five-round, 185-pound main event of BKFC 41. He is one of two former UFC champions to make his promotional debut on the card, alongside Eddie Alvarez. Rockhold said the contract is for one fight and doesn’t restrict him from pursuing opportunities elsewhere, such as for MMA or boxing bouts.
“It’s an offer I couldn’t refuse — and I’m still a free agent,” Rockhold said on The MMA Hour. “That’s the beauty of life. That’s the beauty of where we’re at and where we’re going to keep it. BKFC, I’m loyal to them, for sure, if we stay in that space. But this is a one-term bout agreement and they gave me a fight with Mike Perry as the main event for this groundbreaking fight. I love it. Mike Perry, he’s a little dog. I like what’s in front of me and I like the opponent and I like the f****** stage and it’s f****** new, it’s different, and it’s challenging. It’s f****** scary and it’s f****** fun, and I love it. That’s fighting.”
Rockhold, 38, has been a vocal critic of the UFC stemming from around the time of his UFC 278 bout against Paulo Costa, speaking openly about the organization’s need to improve conditions for its athletes regarding health care, fighter pay, restrictive contracts, and more. He briefly retired from MMA following his loss to Costa, but ultimately changed his mind several months later, requesting and receiving his UFC release to hit the open market.
A former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion, Rockhold has competed for some of the biggest promotions in MMA. He noted that there are other opportunities in the combat sports space he’s currently exploring as well. He also relished the chance to secure his own in-ring sponsors after being restricted from doing so for the majority of his UFC run from 2015 onward. “It’s amazing the freedom that they give,” Rockhold said of BKFC. “You can actually do your own f****** thing, live your own life. Not be a f****** slave.”