Luke Rockhold has just returned from retirement, but that didn’t stop him from saying he’d retire again for good if he failed to KO Logan Paul in a boxing match.
Luke Rockhold is out of retirement and gunning for some fights against the Paul brothers. And if he loses? He’ll go right back into retirement, this time for good.
Inside Fighting caught up with Rockhold outside the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California where Bellator 290 went down over the weekend. Now that Luke has secured his release from the UFC, he’s made it clear he wants to fight Jake Paul, although he’ll take Logan Paul too if offered.
“I like Jake [Paul], I like him. I think it makes a lot of sense.” the former UFC middleweight champion said. “Me and Logan, I might as well take him down before I take down Jake, you know? One at a time.”
“Boxing, yeah. I would take him anywhere,” Rockhold said. “He wants a wrestling match, I’ll take him in a wrestling match. But no, I wanna box. I took my time away from the UFC because my legs need a break. I’ve taken a lot of damage, couple of surgeries after my fight on my ankle and so it feels good to have that break and get that freedom. The UFC gave me that opportunity, so I wanna go box these kids. I’ll go do that thing. I appreciate that and that’s what I’m here to go box a bit, but I still have fight in me too.”
“We’re talking around, we’re talking to [Jake Paul’s business partner] Nakisa Bidarian, talking to some people,” Rockhold confirmed. “Talking to Stephen Espinoza [of Showtime Sports]. Got a lot of things moving. Shaking and moving and just shaking and moving.”
Rockhold was willing to bet the remainder of his combat sports career on a knockout win over Logan Paul.
“If I don’t knock him out, I’ll retire. I’ll retire for good,” he said. “I mean, that’s done. But I’m putting my hands together. If I don’t knock Logan Paul out cold, I’d be f—ing — I’m out. I’m out and I guarantee it. I’d be f—ing devastated, but that ain’t gonna happen.”
Rockhold may have to wait a while if the Paul brothers are his only goal. Jake Paul is set to fight Tommy Fury on February 26th in Saudi Arabia. After that he’s supposed to make his MMA debut for the PFL later in the year. As for Logan Paul, he’s in the middle of a promotional blitz for his PRIME sports drink. As that business venture grows, we have our doubts he’ll be rushing back into the ring for another boxing bout.