![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/9p-duke-roufus-death-pkg_witid0a2_186_mp4_00.01.10.16.jpg\")
article <\/p>\n article <\/p>\n
MILWAUKEE – A celebration of life for Jeffrey “Duke” Roufus, the world-renowned MMA coach and namesake founder of Milwaukee’s Roufusport, was held on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The backstory:<\/p>\n
Loved ones said Roufus died peacefully in his sleep on Oct. 17<\/a>. He was 55 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED: Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app<\/a><\/p>\n What they’re saying:<\/p>\n \u00a0It’s fitting that a room decorated in gold would house a celebration of life for a man who knew gold all too well.<\/p>\n “He was the love of my life,” said Corrine Kucharski, Roufus\u2019 girlfriend. “He was a fighter, he was a champ, he was a legend.”<\/p>\n With dog Rocco at her side, Kucharski remembered the man who she said stole her heart. She and hundreds of others crowded The Rave’s ballroom in Milwaukee<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Duke made an impact on the city of Milwaukee,” she said.<\/p>\n From family to friends to former students, Roufus touched each person there in one way or another.<\/p>\n FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android<\/a><\/p>\n “He gave me purpose. He was a father to me when I didn’t have one,” said UFC fighter Anthony Pettis, one of Roufus’ most famous prot\u00e9g\u00e9s.<\/p>\n “He was one of those rare people in my life that wanted to see me do better than him,” Sergio Pettis, another former student, said.<\/p>\n Duke had a decades-long career that his father, Patrick Roufus, is exceptionally proud of.<\/p>\n “MMA achievements and accolades most coaches and fighters could only dream of,” he said. “It was the fulfillment of all Duke’s boyish hopes and dreams.”<\/p>\n Loved ones said, more than a fighter, Duke loved being a father. Even though he\u2019s gone too soon, his golden legacy will live on.<\/p>\n “He loved his daughter so much,” said Kurchaski.<\/p>\n SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News<\/a><\/p>\n “Off you go, my son, escorted by an army of angels,” his father said. “I thank you myself, rest in peace champ.”<\/p>\n What’s next:<\/p>\n FOX6 News asked Roufusport MMA Academy what’s next. Employees said the gym will continue honoring Roufus’ name in everything they do.<\/p>\n Editor’s note: This story was updated with a correction.<\/p>\n The Source: FOX6 News interviewed people at Sunday’s celebration of life and referenced prior coverage related to his death, including information from Roufusport MMA Academy.<\/p>\n Sports<\/a>Milwaukee<\/a>News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article MILWAUKEE – A celebration of life for Jeffrey “Duke” Roufus, the world-renowned MMA coach and namesake founder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,5130,144940,785,44,85,2489,9834],"class_list":["post-243108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-milwaukee","tag-milwaukee-county","tag-mma","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-us","tag-wi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}