Luke Rockhold signs with Karate Combat, debut set vs. Joe Schilling on April 20

Luke Rockhold’s post-UFC journey continues with a foray into the Karate Combat pit.

Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Rockhold announced he has signed with Karate Combat and will make his debut at Karate Combat 45 on April 20 in Dubai against former GLORY and Bellator veteran Joe Schilling. The fight is expected to take place at 195 pounds.

MMA Junkie verified the signings with a Karate Combat official after both athletes announced the booking on Wednesday.

Rockhold, 39, parted ways with the UFC following a loss in his final promotional appearance in August 2022. He then signed with BKFC and suffered a second-round TKO loss to Mike Perry in April 2023. He was also scheduled for a grappling match with Craig Jones this past fall, but it was canceled. Now he joins Karate Combat, where he can put his always-dangerous striking to full use.

He will take on Schilling, 40, who hasn’t seen combat sports action since October 2019 when he suffered a knockout loss to Tony Johnson under the Bellator banner. Schilling has been scheduled in a pair of combat sports bouts since then, but none of them have come to fruition.