Not one but two bare knuckle events take centre stage May 10th weekend.
(Photo courtesy: BKFC)
On Friday May 10th BYB Extreme and the patented “Trigon” will set up shop in Denver, Colorado. In the main event is a true martial artist, BYB Super Middleweight Champion Lorawnt-T “Smash” Nelson (4-1-1, 4 KO’s) who has experience in MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Pro Boxing, and of course, bare knuckle. “Smash” is moving down to 160-lbs. to challenge Tommy “The Samurai” Turner (2-1, 2 KO’s) for the vacant middleweight title. Turner has found what might be his true calling after an 11-year run as a pro boxer. When he enters the ring on May 10th it will be the third time in four fights that he headlines a card for the organization. Two men hit hard, finish fights and are confirmed stars, but after BYB 26, one of them will be middleweight champion.
Veteran Uly Diaz (4-2 4 KO’s) will give a boost to the star power at the top of the card when he faces Zion Tomlinson (3-3-1, 3 KO’s). Diaz’s experience in both pro boxing and bare knuckle make him a formidable opponent for anyone. He has fought for a BKFC world title and holds the fastest recorded knockout in combat sports history at a whopping four seconds.
The next day, BKFC will host its first event at the combat sports mainstay Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The card will be headlined by the bare-knuckle debut of former boxing world champion Heather Hardy (Pro-Box 24-3, 4 KO’s) and the greatest BKFC women’s fighter of all time, Christine Ferea (8-1, 6 KO’s). Hardy, despite winning a world title, is best known for her bouts with Amanda Serrano, coming up short to the all-time great both times. She will join the slew of career-long pro boxers moving to bare knuckle. And in her way is another all-time great, Flyweight champ Ferea.
But this time around, the fight will be at 135. Ten pounds up from where Ferea has campaigned and where Hardy spent most of her boxing career. But the winner of this bout won’t be going home empty-handed. With the success that was Mike Perry vs. Eddie Alvarez for the “King of Violence” title, BKFC has now coined the winner of this fight as the “Queen of Violence”.
In the co-main event is former UFC fighter Jimmie Rivera (1-1-1) toeing the line against Daniel Straus (0-1) who is still searching for his first BKFC win after a long MMA career that would see him become Bellator Featherweight champion on three separate occasions.
A little further down the card, we will see bantamweight contender Ryan Reber (5-0, 3 KO’s) face off with Anthony Foye (1-1). Reber is coming off a stoppage win at BKFC 57.
While a lot has been said about the current state of boxing, the same could be said about bare knuckle. The sport which has taken the role of “new kid on the block” has consistently grown both with BKFC and BYB among others. For the fans of the uncovered hands, you won't want to miss May 10th weekend.
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