Luke Rockhold is already on the move with Global Fight League.
When GFL unveiled complete rosters for each of its six teams. Rockhold was drafted as a middleweight for Team Dubai, led by his old American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez. However, Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani confirmed Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that the former UFC middleweight champion has been traded to GFL’s Team LA in order to put together a Chris Weidman rematch. The promotion is expected to launch in April, and Rockhold very much wants that fight.
“Weidman and me, it makes the most sense, I think, and it’s fun,” Rockhold said. “I think there’s rumors of a fight coming here to LA, and I’m healthy, man. I’m healthy and I’m training and back to it. So, Weidman, I’d love to close that door, as Dricus [du Plessis] would say. I think I already closed it [at UFC 194], but I’m going to secure that bag, get the fight.”
Rockhold’s and Weidman’s history dates back to 2015, when they met in UFC 194’s co-main event as a high-profile appetizer to the much-anticipated Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor showdown. Rockhold ultimately made good on the opportunity, finishing the then-undefeated Weidman with a fourth-round barrage of strikes to capture the UFC middleweight championship in brutal fashion.
Nine years later, both former champions are now under the GFL umbrella, with Weidman on Team New York. A rematch was supposed to happen at UFC 199 in 2016, but injury forced Weidman to withdraw two weeks out from fight night, resulting in Michael Bisping’s historic underdog win over Rockhold.
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After parting ways with UFC in December, Weidman joined GFL mere days later, citing a potential Rockhold rematch as one of the reasons he was most interested in joining the promotion.
If and when that fight gets booked, Rockhold expects it to end similarly to the first for Weidman.
“Let’s see how it goes, I like my chances this time around,” Rockhold said. “I think Weidman is a little slower than I’ve come off [in recent fights]. I think I can keep up. Guys like Eryk Anders and who you’re losing to [in the UFC], I’m not losing those fights these days. That’s what I’m seeing.
“People age differently. I have aged well, trust me. If I’m healthy, I’m going to all-out flow, and I’ll be slicker than most anybody out there. So I know what I’m capable of, I just gotta get in shape. Obviously, my last time out I fought Joe Schilling on three weeks’ notice or less [for Karate Combat this past April], and I broke my nose again, fought through it, got the knockout. So I expect to have a full training camp and be ready to go and f***ing ice this guy. Put him to sleep.”
Rockhold and Weidman, 40, have both fought at light heavyweight in the past despite their careers primarily taking place at middleweight. There’s been no indication yet as to which weight class a GFL rematch would be held, but Rockhold favors the heavier weight class after turning 40 this past October.
But GFL still must prove that it can be a player in the MMA industry. With several handfuls of notable names and former UFC champions like Rockhold and Weidman on the roster, the foundation is in place. Rockhold likes what he’s seen so far and is excited to get back to the sport he made his name in.
“There’s money behind it,” Rockhold said of GFL. “They’re taking care of me thus far, and they’ve got a lot of potential fights that are fun.
“I miss mixed martial arts. My legs were so beat up after the Paulo Costa fight [in 2022] and injuries and different things, so it was nice to take a break. I wanted to pursue some other things, but I’ve gotten healthier, and really, MMA is what I’m best at. I still have some fire left in me, and I’d love to test that out.”
Rockhold has competed three times outside of MMA since leaving the UFC following a unanimous decision loss to Costa. Rockhold first took the gloves off for a detour into bare-knuckle boxing against Mike Perry in BKFC in 2023, which Perry won via second-round knockout. Rockhold then entered the Karate Kickboxing pit and rebounded with a nasty third-round knockout of Schilling.
After Rockhold followed that with a grappling loss to Pat Downey at the Craig Jones Invitational, he was offered a spot on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul undercard. A back injury ultimately prevented Rockhold from accepting a boxing match against Viddal Riley, but he still likes the idea of competing in the sweet science.
Rockhold’s ideal opponent for a boxing showcase? Fellow UFC veteran Darren Till.
“I hurt my back pretty bad going into that CJI thing. I had to get steroid cortisone injections before that. It’s been a little bit, but I’m healthy now,” Rockhold said.
“I think Darren Till is f***ing great. I’d love to swing and test myself against someone like that. We’ll see who else. I mean, Viddal Riley, I still like that fight, honestly. Give me eight weeks, give me 10 weeks when I’m healthy for an eight-round boxing match. I’m going to f***ing need my legs, so I just got to be healthy for it. But all these guys, I like [for potential fights].”
Till has boxed twice since leaving the UFC in early 2023. He first stopped Mohammad Mutie before most recently knocking out Anthony Taylor in Round 6 of their Misfits Boxing clash in January.
Rockhold believes he’d provide Till with a much stiffer challenge than Taylor did.
“I can’t take that guy any serious,” Rockhold said of Taylor. “He’s pretty bad, the way everything about what he does and how he throws punches.
“I didn’t really see [their fight], I just saw the knockout. Till, he’s good, he’s a pretty clean boxer, for sure. He’s got skills. I like it, just give me some time.”
