Former UFC and StrikeForce world champion Luke Rockhold is now a free agent after negotiating a release from his UFC contract, as he officially un-retires from professional MMA. Rockhold is a veteran of the sport and as a big name, it’s likely that he’ll be fielding contract offers from several major MMA promotions who would all love to have him plying his trade under their banner. Rockhold announced the news of his decision in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour:
“Your man’s a free agent. Free and clear, and I’m ready and re-inspired to go out there and do something new. I need a new setting. I need a new challenge… You get burned out in the game when you’ve done so much, and you need new obstacles.”
One thing that appeals to him at the moment is the idea of becoming a champion in three different major MMA organizations, something only a handful of people have ever managed to do before. While he made no definitive announcement of where he was heading to next, Rockhold didn’t entirely close the door on a return to the UFC either:
“The door is always open, but I want to go and f—k some people up. I want to go and change and correct this bulls—t that’s going on out there and I think there’s other companies, of course. There’s PFL. [Chief Executive Officer] Peter Murray, I think he’s a f—king smart, sharp dude. They’re doing some cool things where the best fight the best. People aren’t jumping each other.”
It doesn’t necessarily have to be MMA either, as Rockhold has mentioned before that he’s open to the idea of taking on boxing matches as well. This makes some sense given the options that he has in front of him in different promotions too. ONE Championship regularly stage matches under all sorts of different rulesets, and YouTube boxing star Jake Paul recently signed a deal with PFL. Rockhold actually specifically mentioned the idea of fighting YouTubers too:
“This jumping, all this bulls—t, let’s keep the bulls—t the bulls—t. If you want to go bulls—t, we can go box and beat up these bulls—t f—king YouTubers, too. I think there’s opportunities there. I’m just finding my rhythm in the boxing and my legs can take a little break every once in a while. I’d like to put some hands on some people and I’d like to invest in some other fights.”
The full interview with Luke Rockhold where he announces his release from the UFC and discusses where to go after he un-retires from MMA was uploaded to the official YouTube Channel of MMA Fighting:
