Morning Report | Luke Rockhold: Darren Till doesn’t ‘belong in a ring or a cage with me’

Luke Rockhold is already doing his best to sell the fight.

This week, news broke that the former UFC middleweight champion was making his return to action this summer, when he faces Darren Till in the main event of Misfits Boxing 22 on Aug. 30, in Manchester. The fight will be Rockhold’s boxing debut, and despite Till having more experience than him in this arena, Rockhold says there’s no venue where “The Gorilla” would pose a threat to him.

“I’ve got a million options if I fight Darren Till,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “Mainly, kick him. Kick through his head, kick through his body, and then beat him up on the ground. There’s a million different options. This will be a little bit more of a level playing field, but I still don’t think Darren Till belongs in a ring or a cage with me. …

“Darren’s tough. He’s a tough guy, but he’s got a breaking point. I think he’s complacent at times, and I think there are going to be openings. I can pressure him, I can hit him. People haven’t seen me in the boxing ring. I can move. I can move and I can hit hard with both hands. I’m nothing like anybody he’s faced in recent times.”

Starting out as a grappler who won world championships at the blue belt and purple belt level in gi and no-gi jiu-jitsu, Rockhold transitioned to MMA in 2007. After a successful run that saw him claim both the Strikeforce and UFC middleweight titles, Rockhold lost his final three fights in the UFC before leaving the sport in 2022. From there he’s bounced around to various other combat sports, including a loss to Mike Perry in BKFC, and, most recently, a win over Joe Schilling in Karate Combat. And while boxing is the furthest afield from the skills that defined his MMA career, Rockhold says he’s fallen in love with the sport.

“I think I was one of the best grapplers ever in fighting, and this is a new thing that’s inspiring to me, is the boxing,” Rockhold said. “It’s the one avenue that I didn’t close, I didn’t perfect, and I’m enjoying it. It makes me hungry every day, and it’s exciting. It’s fun for me. It’s the most fun of fighting, right now, for me, the boxing aspect. There’s a creativity to it, and there’s limitation. I’m enjoying the flow.”

And with that enjoyment, Rockhold intends to stop sojourning from sport to sport and stick around the squared circle for the foreseeable future, because after he beats Till, Rockhold has a mission.

“There’s one thing I don’t like in this world is fake, bullshit f*cking people,” Rockhold said. “The world is full of pathetic, fake people these days. I’m here, and the only reason I still fight is to fight for the greater good of real man, real shit. I’m going to go out there, and I’m going to put Darren Till down, and I’m going to clean up Jake Paul and all these little f*cking minions. That’s where I’m at. I’d like to set the world straight. The world’s going in the wrong direction, and what excites me to fight is to correct the bullshit of this world.”

BMF. Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway agree to let Lil Wayne wrap ‘BMF’ title around winner’s waist at UFC 318.

Beef. Nate Diaz rips Dustin Poirier with parting shot ahead of Poirier’s final fight at UFC 318.

Drugs. Conor McGregor claims he’s back in the UFC anti-doping program to prepare for return at White House card.

Contender. Max Holloway reacts to Paddy Pimblett potentially jumping the line for title shot against Ilia Topuria.

Sure. Turki Alalshikh: Jake Paul ‘accepted’ fight against Anthony Joshua, plans to speak to Joshua next.

145. A.J. McKee returning to featherweight to prove ‘I’m still the baddest man on the planet in this division.’

Brawl. Brendan Allen, Marvin Vettori dispute details of casino brawl ahead of UFC 318 grudge match.

Sad. Aaron Pico ‘pretty disappointed’ Movsar Evloev dropped out of their fight at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Pros react to Dustin Poirier’s career.

UFC 318 Press Conference highlights.

UFC 318 Embedded, Episode 4.

Max Holloway fight camp.

Daniel Cormier with Dustin Poirier.

El Diamante.

The best is Blessed.

Tough scenes.

Middleweight things.

Renato Moicano is a silly man.

OK, but like, damn.

Back when Conor could win a fight.

I’m not including the first one in this thread but Chael commenting on McGregor’s latest snafu.

Welp, this is it. Tomorrow will be the end of a particularly wonderful career. Dustin Poirier is not the greatest fighter ever, and probably not even one of the 40 greatest fighters ever (though he might be the best fighter to never win a major, undisputed title). Even so, he’s nearly universally respected and a beloved figure, as much for what he did in the cage as for how his career unfolded, and the good he’s done outside of it.

I love this sport deeply, but the truth is, many fighters are not wonderful people. Poirier is. He’s a testament to what this sport should aspire to, one of the greatest action fighters of all -time, and a no-brainer Hall of Famer. Let’s enjoy this last dance.

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