Luke Rockhold, after an unfavorable experience with BKFC, criticized bare-knuckle boxing and expressed interest in bare-knuckle kickboxing for a potential rematch with Mike Perry, while preparing for his boxing debut against Darren Till.
Consider Luke Rockhold truly one and done with BKFC. His brief stint in bare-knuckle fighting in 2023 ended abruptly.
The former UFC middleweight champ faced Mike Perry in a marquee matchup. Unfortunately, Rockhold suffered a broken tooth and a nasty lip cut, leading to a second-round loss.
Afterwards, Rockhold admitted bare-knuckle wasn’t his thing. He’s not impressed with the sport overall.
“Bare-knuckle boxing is not a fight,” Rockhold told MMA Fighting. “I’m not losing my teeth without using everything I’ve trained for.”
Metal ropes and chaotic brawls? Not his style. Rockhold found it hard to gauge distance and questioned the sport’s logic.
Limited to punches against Perry, Rockhold couldn’t use his kicks or ground game. He’s doing it again in a boxing match with Darren Till on Aug. 30.
Both sports involve punches, but Rockhold says bare-knuckle took away more weapons. Boxing requires a different skill set.
“It couldn’t be worse than bare-knuckle boxing,” he said about his boxing debut prep. “I feel like my boxing has come a long way.”
He’s confident. “I’m hurting people left and right at the gym,” Rockhold added. He expects to perform well against Till.
Despite his BKFC experience, Rockhold isn’t opposed to fighting without gloves again—under different rules.
He’d prefer bare-knuckle kickboxing. “I’d rematch Mike Perry and put him to sleep,” Rockhold declared.
No more bouncing off metal ropes. He believes kickboxing would bring real technique and fun.
Rockhold’s checked many boxes in his combat sports career: MMA, bare-knuckle, Karate Combat, grappling, and now boxing.
He’s excited about boxing and hopes it becomes his main focus after facing Till. “I like it,” he said about trying different combat sports.
As for Perry, Rockhold is serious about a rematch—only if it’s bare-knuckle kickboxing. “It would be f*cking badass,” he said. “C’mon boy.”