MMA
Luke Rockhold Squashes Beef With Darren Till After Brutal Misfits Boxing 22 Knockout
When Luke Rockhold retired from MMA at UFC 278 against Paulo Costa, he was already on a three-fight losing streak. Moreover, he was also finished by Mike Perry during his short stint in BKFC, and while he picked up a win against Joe Scilling in Karate Combat last year, his brutal annihilation at the hands of Darren Till at Misfits Boxing 22 in Manchester’s AO Arena was a scary sight. The Liverpudlian sent the former middleweight champion into the shadow realm courtesy of a third-round knockout that left Rockhold unconscious and folded in half. Despite having a heated build-up to the bout, it seems that things have cooled down between the former UFC standouts as Rockhold shared a heartfelt message after the fight.
Luke Rockhold and Darren Till Share Drinks After Epic Misfits Boxing 22 Clash
The former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight kingpin started his boxing debut on a strong note, finding his rhythm early and using his jab to control the pace against Till. But toward the end of the first round, ‘The Gorilla’ landed his signature left hand twice, nearly finishing the fight early. Round 2 didn’t go much better for the 40-year-old, as Till’s powerful left hand kept connecting and shaking the former UFC champ.
Oh my word. A vicious KO from @darrentill2. Wow. pic.twitter.com/kP2tyC7vAt
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 30, 2025
By Round 3, the 32-year-old completely took over. He slipped his left hand through Rockhold’s guard and delivered a brutal shot that knocked Rockhold out cold in the corner of the ring. Rockhold didn’t talk about his future in his first post-fight statement on social media.
Instead, alongside a photo of him and Till sharing beers, he kept it short and classy: “S— happens,” Rockhold wrote. “It’s all love @darren till2.0. All the best to you brother.”
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While the duo seems to have buried the hatchet, concern about Rockhold’s long-term health has erupted as an issue. Rockhold’s decline began at UFC 199 in 2016, when Michael Bisping shocked the world by knocking him out to take the middleweight title on 17 days’ notice.
The setbacks didn’t stop there as both Yoel Romero and Jan Blachowicz delivered devastating knockouts at UFC 221 and UFC 239 that further derailed the former champion’s career. After the loss to Blachowicz, Dana White publicly urged Rockhold to retire in 2019, but the Californian kept pushing forward.
April 4, 2023, Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, United States: LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 4: Luke Rockhold interacts with media during the Bare Knuckle 41 Media Day at Palms Casino Resort on April 4, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Las Vegas, Nevada United States – ZUMAp175 20230404_zsa_p175_029 Copyright: xDiegoxRibasx
As already mentioned, a brutal one-off appearance in BKFC against Mike Perry, where he suffered shattered teeth and vowed never to return to bare-knuckle boxing, wasn’t enough to stop the 40-year-old from chasing the fight game. On the other hand, Till has been on a career resurgence.
He improved his record to 3-0 under the Misfits banner after knocking out Rockhold. He previously scored a unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Darren Stewart this past May, following up on his knockout of former Bellator fighter Anthony Taylor in his promotional debut back in January. For the unversed, Till has been a former UFC 170lbs title contender against Tyron Woodley in 2018, but came up short.
That marked the start of a difficult 1-5 run over his final six UFC fights. In 2023, he requested and was granted his release from the promotion. Now, Till seems to have found new momentum in the boxing ring and, riding that confidence, boisterously called out boxing legend Carl Froch after his latest victory. It will be interesting to see where the two combat sports legends go from here on.
