Darren Till vs. Luke Rockhold, Tony Ferguson vs. Salt Papi set for Misfits Boxing 22

A trio of familiar UFC names have signed on to headline Misfits Boxing 22.

Darren Till celebrates after knocking out Anthony Taylor (not pictured) in the heavyweight bout at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester. Picture date: Saturday January 18, 2025. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
Darren Till is set to return to the boxing ring. (Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
Richard Sellers - PA Images via Getty Images

Darren Till is returning to the boxing ring — and so is former UFC champion Luke Rockhold.

On Wednesday, Misfits Boxing announced the headliner bouts for Misfits Boxing 22 on Aug. 30 in Manchester, England. The event will be headlined by a bridgerweight match — 200 to 224 pounds — between Till and Rockhold, airing live on DAZN. In the co-main event, former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will make his professional boxing debut against Nathaniel "Salt Papi" Bustamante. The match will be contested in the 160-pound middleweight division.

Till, 32, is undefeated in his boxing career since he left MMA in 2023. "The Gorilla" first scored an exhibition TKO win over Mohammad Mutie in 2024 before winning pro bouts this year against Anthony Taylor and Darren Stewart.

Like Till, Rockhold has tried to stay active in the striking arts since leaving the UFC in 2022. Rockhold has fought twice outside the promotion, dropping a second-round TKO to Mike Perry in his 2023 bare-knuckle boxing debut before a earning a highlight-reel knockout of Joe Schilling in a Karate Combat match in April 2024.

Ferguson will also be a newcomer to the Misfits Boxing ring. The match will be "El Cucuy's" pro boxing debut, coming after he exited the UFC this past January. Ferguson left the promotion after setting the unfortunate record for the longest losing streak in UFC history at eight straight. Renown as one of the greatest lightweights of his era during his prime, he initially intended to stick with MMA and signed with the now-defunct Global Fight League (GFL) for a fight against Misfits Boxing alum Dillon Danis, however the bout failed to come to fruition due to the GFL's collapse before it held a single event.

Among all four athletes announced for Misfits Boxing 22, the well-known influencer-turned-boxer, Salt Papi, is the most experienced in the boxing ring. The 31-year-old currently rides a three-match win streak in his exhibition career, holding a 6-2 record overall. Outside of his debut in March 2022, Salt Papi has scored stoppages in all of his wins.

Category: General Sports