Luke Rockhold cites being locked in a long-term UFC deal as a factor in his retirement, which ultimately led to his return to action in bare-knuckle competition at BKFC 41.
When Luke Rockhold announced his retirement this past August, a primary factor in that decision was being locked into a long-term UFC deal. However, he eventually secured his release from the UFC and announced his return to action in bare-knuckle competition with his first fight booked at BKFC 41 on Saturday. The 38-year-old veteran admits his reasons for briefly retiring went beyond his relationship with the UFC, but that was definitely a determining factor at the time.
“Being locked in with them, and what they were offering, and what was on the table, and having to work back through their ranks on their terms, I didn’t want to do that,” Rockhold said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “That’s not fun for me. I’ve already been there. I’ve been the UFC champion. I’ve been the Strikeforce champion. What’s f****** next? I want new goals. I want new challenges. You never know. As long as my body’s going in the direction it’s going now, anything can happen. I could go back there as long as it was on my terms. But conquering another world right now is what I’m looking for. More mountains to climb, more things to do. This is what I’m f****** here for. I like fighting. Fighting f****** gives me life.”
Once he hit free agency, Rockhold had the opportunity to seek out multiple suitors and make a decision based on what he wanted. The terms in these deals aligned more with his desires, and he felt like he retained power as an athlete instead of handing over his career to the UFC, with their longer contracts. With a fresh start, Rockhold expects his results in the ring to show just how rejuvenated he’s feeling now that he’s no longer under the UFC’s control. “I was locked into a contract, many different contracts,” he said. “It’s just one contract to the next, but there’s always long-term deals, and it’s not always the best energy, the best setting when you’re fighting [and] when you’re at odds with each other. You’re fighting on their terms and their paycheck. Being a free agent, it’s a different story. Being your own promotion, fighting on your own terms, picking your paychecks, and picking your fights—that’s how it should be. When you’re at the top of the game, you should be able to work together with a promoter to find the opponent and paycheck that makes you happy and eager to fight. Then you’ll see the best fighters and the best fights.”
Rockhold is also excited about his match-up against Mike Perry in the BKFC 41 main event. He may not always have the highest opinion of Perry, but Rockhold knows this is the perfect dance partner for his bare-knuckle debut. “Mike Perry has a level of entertainment,” Rockhold said. “He has a little something to him but he’s also a f****** idiot too. I think he is entertaining in some sense. He brings it. The kid brings it to fight. I’ll give him that. He’s a game fighter. He’s going to come forward. He’s going to get hit, he’s going to keep getting up, and he’s going to keep getting in your face. I’m that same motherf*****, but I’m a lot bigger, I’m a lot stronger, and I hit a lot f****** harder.”