Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is taking the combat sports world by storm! This sport is designed for maximum action in a fast paced fight. Each fight consists of 5 rounds, 2 minutes each round. They fly by. Straight up fists nothing else. You are able to hold your opponent in a half clinch and punch them at close range as much as you can. Their wrists and hands are wrapped, but they can only go as close as 1 inch to the knuckles to ensure they're fighting 100% bare fisted. The wrap is more about stability. Some fighters barely even wrap at all (Tony Lopez) where some utilize as much as they can.
The first state to legalise and sanction the sport in the USA since 1889 was Wyoming. The first event, dubbed BKFC 1: The Beginning, took place on June 2nd 2018 at the Cheyenne Ice and Events Centre in Cheyenne Wyoming and was an immediate hit. The event featured the quarter final round (first round) of their inaugural Bare Knuckle Heavyweight Championship Tournament which saw 8 men step into the "Squared Circle" and do battle.
(Square platform with a circular ring)
The event also featured Bobby Gunn who is a bareknuckle underground legend who holds an alleged record of 72-0 all knockouts. He took on Irineu Beato Costa Jr.and ended him quickly with a couple liver shots.
The most famous bare knuckle fight from this promotion came from Tony Lopez and Joey Beltran that witnessed two long time mma rivals go the distance in the bloodiest most exhausting display still to this date. Both men were completely covered by the end of the 10 minutes.
Also on the card was former UFC womens fighter Bec Rawlings from Australia. She took on a "pro" boxer in Alma Garcia. The fight was stopped after the second round because Garcia wouldn't answer to the bell.
There are plenty more great fights if you want to check them out. Wont go into detail about every fight.
BKFC 2 A New Era took place in Biloxi Mississippi and saw the semi final round of the heavyweight tournament. After earning an 18 second,1 punch knockout at bkfc 1, Sam shewmaker took on Maurice Jackson in a very underwhelming fight mostly because jackson kept backing up and then clinching when shewmaker tried to punch him. Jackson had a significant height advantage. It was rather boring. Arnold AJ Adam's took on Joey Beltran and earned a stoppage victory at 9 seconds of the 4th round.
This event saw a few returning faces such as Bec Rawlings who took on Britain Hart for the first Bare Knuckle womens title. They went the distance in a great fight with Bec getting the nod. And also a bunch of new fighters like Chris Lytle, Drew Lipton, Charles Bennet and Kendall Grove among others.
It was still a good event, but had a massive task in measuring up to bkfc 1. It didnt quite hit the mark but was entertaining.
Bkfc 3 also held in Biloxi hosted the heavyweight tournament final where AJ Adams beat Sam Shewmaker.
Kendall Grove lost to Marcel Stamps by way of 3rd round knockout... that was a crazy knockout made Grove look like a ragdoll lol.
Johnny Bedford who has been quietly on these cards beat matt Murphy by UD.
Joe Diesel Riggs made his debut vs Brok Weaver and took the decision after 5 rounds.
Christine Ferea beat Jennifer Tate with an exciting first round knockout.
And Harris Stephenson was knocked as stiff as a board by Elvin Britto at 6 seconds of the 5th round.
Then they made their trip across the border to host BKFC 4 Team USA vs Team Mexico from Cancun.
This event was held outdoors and was probably their most professional looking setup to date by incorporating a screen and a ramp for the fighters. This was also arguably their best event to date aswell.
The main event was a debut by Julian "let me bang bro" Lane and Leonard Garcia. This was an excellent back and forth fight that ended in a knockout in the 2nd round. Incredible pace and great way to close out the show.
This was preceded by Bec Rawlings and Cecilia Flores who put on an awesome 5 round slugfest in Bec's first title defence. She ultimately took the W but it looked like Flores hit her really well a few times throughout the fight and had her slightly hurt.
It was a great event that has some pretty big names in MMA checking it out as a possible alternative. Donald Cowboy Cerrone was in attendance of bkfc 4. BKFC president David Feldman also announced that Anthony Rumble Johnson, with him by his side, is now associated with the company. After much speculation rumble Johnson addressed the situation and clarified it's not in a fighting capacity but a behind the scenes role.
2 weeks after it was announced that Artem Lobov asked for his release from UFC he signed a 3 fight contract with BKFC with the option to still fight MMA during his tenure if he wanted. He will be fighting another UFC release in Jason Knight who was released at the start of this year.
Big things are on the horizon for this company and I cant wait for it to blow up.
The schedule for events this year so far is as follows:
BKFC 4 - February 2nd Cancun Mexico
BKFC 5- April 6 (Ferea vs Hart) Manchester New Hampshire
BKFC 6 - April 20 (lobov vs knight) Biloxi Mississippi
BKFC 7 - June 1 Cheyenne Wyoming
BKFC 8 -July 27 London England
BKFC 9 - August 24 Mexico City
BKFC 10 - date unknown in Australia
They're taking this thing global and looking to make a real statement.
Come along for the journey! If you like combat sports then you'll love Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
