As we go through all the notable results in 2024, this time we will focus on the names at or around 165-lbs.
Let’s first establish that this weight class is BKFC’s welterweight (165) and BYB’s middleweight and super middleweight (160-168). The reason we are doing it like this is because in the hypothetical scenario where these fighters might cross the street, they would stay at their weight rather than their “division”.
BYB:
Champion: LT Nelson (6-1-1, 6 KO)
Defeated Tommy Turner KO1 on May 10th
Defeated Barrie Jones KO1 on August 17th
We will start with the BYB side of things because it’s super easy. The champ at both 160 & 168-lbs is LT Nelson, our pound for pound #3. In May he started his year off by knocking out Tommy Turner for the super middleweight title in one round at BYB 26. He followed that with the best bare knuckle matchup in recent memory defending that gold against the legendary Barrie Jones in August at BYB 30. Nelson smashed him in three rounds asserting himself as one of the best fighters in the world. He starts 2025 off by rematching James Connelly who he fought to a draw with in August of 2023 at BYB 19. That fight will also be for the 168-lb. title.
BKFC:
Champion: Austin Trout (3-0, 1 KO)
Ok now for the BKFC side. The champ is Austin Trout (3-0, 1 KO) and if you didn’t read my article on him, you should, because he’s the man. Our pound-for-pound number 1. His two outings this year were beating the previous best Luis Palomino for the title and then defending it against another 11-fight bare knuckle veteran Rico Franco. He made both of them look easy.
Since no one’s really established themselves as legit contenders for Nelson’s titles, outside of maybe Connelly, we will focus on the crop of Trout challengers in BFKC.
Contender: Bryce Henry (4-0, 4 KO)
Starting with someone who Trout thinks will be one of the best bare knucklers in the world someday, Bryce Henry. He’s 23-years-old, one of the youngest in the game and like Trout, also has a boxing background. In 2024, he only got into the BKFC ring once, in fact, it was on the Trout vs. Palomino card at BKFC 57, where he stopped then undefeated Robbie Peralta in round two. We want that fight so bad we made a must-see matchup on it.
Notable Contenders:
Going off the BKFC rankings, the actual number one contender is Carlos Trinidad-Snake (6-0, 4 KO). He got out twice this year, scoring two stoppage wins over Dustin Pague and Zach Juusola.
The number two contender is Jake Lindsey (5-1, 4 KO), who only saw the ring once but it was beating fellow top five ranked welterweight and former champion Elvin Brito by unanimous decision.
The final guy I’d like to talk about is Connor Tierney (8-2, 3 KO). He has an argument for being a top two contender and the only reason he can’t be number one as of yet is because he lost to Lindsey in 2023. But he clearly has a very experienced resume with his only two losses coming against Rico Franco, in his second fight, and Lindsey. Some of his best wins include James Connelly twice, Jeremiah Riggs, and Joe Elmore. This year he made one appearance and beat then undefeated Jonny Graham for the BKFC UK Welterweight Title.
There you go, the weight class that features two of the three best bare knucklers in the world. Definitely one to watch in 2025.
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