Misfits Boxing 22 star Luke Rockhold was encouraged to retire by UFC boss Dana White six years before his upcoming debut in the ring.

Rockhold’s latest combat sports venture comes on August 30, as the former UFC and Strikeforce champion makes his first appearance in pro boxing.

The career move comes three years on from a short-lived retirement after UFC 278, where Rockhold was beaten by Paulo Costa in his return to action.

Had White had his way, though, the Californian star would have hung up the gloves three years before his last Octagon outing — and six years before his arrival in the crossover boxing realm.

Dana White told Luke Rockhold to focus on his second ‘career’ after brutal Jan Blachowicz KO

Before a hard-fought exit from the UFC that had fans on their feet in Salt Lake City, Rockhold initially looked set for a much worse final page in his MMA book.

Three years before his comeback, the 40-year-old had a devastating night at the office in Las Vegas. On the undercard of Jon Jones’ title defense against Thiago Santos at UFC 239, Rockhold made his light heavyweight debut.

Against then-future champion Jan Blachowicz, the Santa Cruz native had hoped to secure a quick path to the title and two-division glory. Instead, though, he was left dazed on the canvas after being brutally knocked out with a left hook early in round two.

The result marked Rockhold’s third loss in four fights and left him with the second broken jaw of his career. The UFC CEO, for one, had seen enough.

“I think Luke Rockhold should talk about hanging it up,” Dana White said at the UFC 239 post-fight press conference.

“He broke his jaw tonight. That’s his second broken jaw, he’s been knocked out viciously a few times here, his shin is all banged up, he had to have skin grafts and all kinds of stuff.

“He’s had a good career,” White continued. “He’s been a great fighter. I’d like to see him hang it up.”

White further encouraged Rockhold’s exit from fighting by referencing the modeling work he had been doing.

“He’s got another career, he’s got a second career. Everyone’s a (expletive) model, right? ‘I’m a model, I’m a model.’ That guy’s actually really modeling for Ralph Lauren. So, good for him.”

Luke Rockhold is still fighting six years after Dana White’s retirement plea

Rockhold’s ‘retirement’ announcement at UFC 278 turned out to be far from his last action in combat sports.

The former Strikeforce and UFC champ quickly committed to a comeback, signing with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in 2023. His debut in bare-knuckle boxing did not go to plan, with Rockhold suffering a brutal loss to Mike Perry at BKFC 41.

Having retired during that fight after having his teeth broken, the American has no plans to return to that realm of combat. Instead, he bounced back with a victory in the Karate Combat Pit last year, where Rockhold finished David Schilling via TKO to record his first win since 2017.

The American’s focus is now on yet another venture, as he gears up to debut in pro boxing opposite fellow former UFC star Darren Till at Misfits Boxing 22 this Saturday.