Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez To Make Bare-Knuckle Boxing Debuts In April

Former UFC middleweight king Luke Rockhold is taking his fighting acumen to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) as he will debut against fan-favorite striker "Platinum" Mike Perry at BKFC 41 on April 29.

Rockhold has kept himself out of the mixed martial arts (MMA) spotlight since falling to Paulo Costa by unanimous decision at UFC 278 in August 2022.

While the bout was awarded Fight of the Night honors, he would go on to announce his retirement.

In late October, Rockhold told MMA Junkie Radio that he would be interested in pursuing a career in boxing, claiming that "if there are some interesting people with the right people in the right promotion, I'd love to test myself."

While many continued to wonder who and where Rockhold will surface next in the fight game, the former UFC star announced on the January 23 episode of The MMA Hour that he had successfully negotiated his release from the Dana White-led promotion.

As for Perry, the dynamic striker made the move to BKFC in October 2021 when his UFC deal expired and made his debut for the promotion against Julian Lane–a name most known to MMA fans for his "just let me bang, bro" outburst during Ultimate Fighter 16.

Perry, who had one boxing bout prior to his UFC run, proved that he was more than up to the task in February 2022 when he landed a big knockdown on Lane in the first round and won it by unanimous decision.

His next bout saw him take on the always-dangerous Michael "Venom" Page in August of that year and even dropped Page early in the fight before going to a six-round majority decision after it was initially ruled a draw.

Rockhold (6'3") will have the height advantage against Perry (5'10") and also a six-inch reach advantage, but the former will need to produce a game plan that will prevent Perry from attempting to even get close to him.

Another former UFC titlist who will also be making his debut at BKFC 41 is one-time lightweight king Eddie Alvarez.

Fans last saw Alvarez under the ONE Championship banner in a losing effort against former lightweight champ Ok Rae Yoon in April 2021 and secured his release from the promotion in September 2022.

With many wondering as to what Alvarez does next in his illustrious career that features impressive wins over Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos under the UFC banner, BKFC will now serve as his new home.

Former UFC featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes will be his opponent at BKFC 41 and has already proven that he can adjust to the stand-up-only ruleset after a fourth-round TKO victory over Joshuah Alvarez at KnuckleMania II in February 2022.