Max Rohskopf is on the comeback trail less than a year after his release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He hadn’t spoken publicly since he and UFC parted ways last August, but talked to MMAJunkie for an article published Thursday that laid out what the past year of his life has been like.
Rohskopf, 26, was released with a 5-1 record. Following a controversial June 2020 loss to Austin Hubbard, in a bout that was scheduled at the last minute. Rohskopf said he struggled to find his way in the aftermath. He was hurting both financially and emotionally and lost his motivation.
Max Rohskopf talks fallout after release from the UFC
“Once they cut me, I was like, Man, I’ve I got to figure some [things] out,’ because before that, I was making like $200 every two weeks,” Rohskopf told MMAJunkie. “I didn’t have my own apartment. I was living in (a) pool house. I was just struggling to make it, just training every day, just waiting until I could start making some real money and change my life forever.
“I felt like before they cut me, even though it didn’t go the way I wanted, I thought I was close to somewhat changing my life, but then they cut me. I’m like, ‘All right, I guess I got to start [over].’ Took some time, and I didn’t leave my room. I spent a lot of money on Postmates ordering food because I didn’t want to leave the house.”
In the fight at UFC on ESPN 11 against Hubbard, Rohskopf insisted to his coaches that he didn’t want to go out for the third round after being overwhelmed with a barrage of strikes in the previous round. His team refused, but the fight ended when the referee and a physician stepped in. It was hot topic following the event and even UFC President Dana White was supportive of the Ohio natives desire to no longer continue.
In the ensuing months, Rohskopf came to the conclusion that he deserved the chance to fight in UFC, but didn’t make the most of the opportunity.
“I also deserved the result that I got because of decisions I was making outside of fighting and outside the gym,” Rohskopf said. “I wasn’t necessarily ready at that point in time, but I 100 percent deserved to be there. I also deserved the result of it.”
The support he got from his inner circle helped to bring back his passion for MMA, and he’s scheduled to fight Jeff Creighton August 1, at Cage Warriors 126. And he’s got the chip back on his shoulder.
“Up until the last two or three years, I never had anyone ever tell me I was talented or going to be good at something. Ever,” Rohskopf said in the interview. “(Not in) junior high wrestling, in high school wrestling, in jiu-jitsu or in college wrestling, I’ve never been someone that people look at like, ‘Oh, he’s talented.’
“But in the last two or three years, for whatever reason, people thought I was some kind of talented kid. That’s never been me, and that’s never been the reason why I’ve had any amount of success at all. It’s always been a little bit more an underdog, hard-working attitude, and I think I lost a little bit. It feels good to kind of feel like I have that back.”
–Field Level Media
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