Your map through one of the most stacked days in bare knuckle!
Two shows, 23 fights, five titles on the line, one massive afternoon for our North American fans. Here is everything you need to know about this weekend's bare knuckle action!
BKFC on DAZN: Spain - 1 PM EDT start time
Taking place Marbella Arena, an open air bullfighting arena, BKFC makes its stunning arrival in the country of Spain in what is sure to be a visual spectacle with equally awe-inspiring action in the squared circle.
Championship Fights
Main Event: Franco Tenaglia (3-0, 2 KO) vs. Tony “Loco” Soto (6-0, 3 KO) - For the Vacant BKFC Lightweight title.
Hometown hero Franco Tenaglia will attempt to win his first world title in front of his home crowd. Born in Argentina but based in Spain, Tenaglia carries a 3-0 record in BKFC but has lots of experience in bare knuckle fighting in King of the Streets. Soto is on away territory but has a large fanbase back in the US cheering him on.
Both guys are vicious power punchers, Tenaglia is always swinging to end the fight while Soto uses his lethal jab to set up his combos.
Co-Main Event: Austin Trout (2-0, 1 KO) vs. Rico Franco (9-2 7 KO) - For Trout’s BKFC Welterweight title.
BK Nations Pound for pound number one Austin Trout looks to make the first of his title defences against the experienced bare knuckler Rico Franco.
Trout took out former PFP #1 Luis Palomino to win the title in his only other outing this year, and faces another tough customer in Franco. Franco is undefeated since joining the bare knuckle ranks and has knocked out all of his opponents.
Trout has flawlessly transitioned his boxing mechanics into bare knuckle fighting while Franco has rebranded himself from his MMA days and sculpted his skillset to become one of the best bare knuckles in the modern era. Two different paths to this point makes for a clash set to steal the show from the other two title fights on the card.
With the impending arrival of BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor to make his in ring debut he has been calling for since his partnership was announced. Whoever holds the belt at lightweight or welterweight could potentially be in line for the biggest pay day of their career.
Featured Bout: David Mundell (8-1, 6 KO) vs. Danny Christie (5-1, 4 KO) - For Mundell’s BKFC Middleweight title.
Let’s be clear, someone is getting knocked out. Could be the first round could be the last but you can’t trap two guys who hit as hard as these two do and expect everyone to be ok by the final bell.
Mundell has traveled all around weight wise in his bare knuckle career but has found a home at 175, where he now holds the title. Christie has also taken trips up to 185, but much like Mundell has found a home at 175. A combined 13-2 record with 10 knockouts is going to set the bar high in this championship triple header
Now for this one the added bonus is that one Mike Perry fancies himself at 175er, despite not fighting contenders but more down the lane of fighting big name free agents if and when he dies decide to set his sights on a championship the holder of this belt is in for a high-profile scrap!
Other Notable Fighters
Former boxing world champion Hannah Rankin will make her debut against late fill-in Deborah Melhourn. She will look to eventually join Austin Trout as the only boxing world champions to win a world title in BKFC.
Perennial contender James Lilley is back in action after suffering a loss to Franco Tenaglia earlier this year. A first round knockdown may have been the decider as the cards were very close at the end of the fight, so with an emphatic win this time around he may be in line to run it back with Franco, or a first go with Soto.
Well known European bare knuckler Dan Chapman will also make his debut following a 5-0 run in BKB before they were bought by BYB.
And yes we have to talk about it even against my better judgment Ben “The Bane” Davis and Oscar Willis, two MMA media personalities will face off in the opening bout of the evening.
BYB 32 Leeds Brawl - 12 PM EDT start time
BYB continues its post BKB matchmaking with two championship fights and a card stacked top to bottom with notable names ready to put on a 12 fight card with the potential for highlights in every one.
Championship fights
Main Event: Scott McHugh (12-4 4 KO) vs. Liam Rees (3-0, 1 KO) - For the Vacant BYB Super Welterweight title.
Scott McHugh vs. Liam Rees will break ground in the super welterweight division and crown the first champion under the new BYB banner.
Hometown favorite McHugh has one of the most extensive bare-knuckle records in the game today: 12-4 with 4 KOs and multiple world championships. Rees, on the other hand, has just three fights but immediately surged to a world-class level, winning a title in his most recent bout. Despite the low KO totals on each guy they both hit tremendously hard and given this bout is taking place in the trigon with BYB rules, expect this one to get nasty, quickly. Rees’ team has even been posting videos of the Swansea product toeing the line of some “dirty boxing” in BKB so one can only expect he will unleash some brutal clinch work when the bout begins,
Similar to how the BKFC championship fights have some weight attached to the results, BYB double champion and BK Nations PFP #3 LT Nelson has stated he’s been itching to drop down to 154-lbs and win a third championship. Whoever ends up winning this bout is set up for a historic clash with Nelson who's riding a massive win streak that includes taking out bare knuckle great Barrie Jones.
Co-Main Event: Joe Fitzpatrick (3-1, 3 KO) vs. Harry Gigliotti (2-0, 1 KO) - For the Vacant BYB Super Lightweight title.
This bout is a surprise but a welcome one to bare knuckle fans, Harry Gigliotti was slated for the card to begin with but was supposed to take on Josh Oxendine who was forced to withdraw from the bout. But after he was replaced by Joe Fitzpatrick, BYB decided to award the winner with the 140-lb. title.
Fitzpatrick has extensive amateur boxing experience, as well as a great pro record of 10-1. Earning a 3-1 record, Last time out the Northern Ireland product stopped Jonny Jones in one round improving to 3-1 in the process.
Gigliotti is also from the boxing world going 9-5 as a pro. He sticks to the fundamentals but isn't afraid to trade when needed, just look at his bout with Rusty Crowder, a tough customer if there ever was one.
Other Notable Fighters.
While BKFC Spain's championship triple header is tough to beat, BYB 32 is by far the more evenly balanced. To be honest I could include pretty near the entire card, but that would make this article even longer than it already is. If you really want to know everything about everyone, you’ll just have to watch it on Saturday!
Matthew Morton vs Alex Wilson - Morton got his start in organized fights by fighting on Street Beefs UK, yeah seriously. His opponent Wilson, had a candidate for knockout of the year in his last performance.
Reese Murray - a constant threat to fight for a world title shot faces the experienced Dean “Smudger” Smith
Mark Tiffin vs Paul Hillz - again two very experienced guys squaring off, Tiffin is coming off a loss after being a late replacement against James Connelly while Hillz picked up a win in his BYB debut. These two will bring it, don't miss this one!
Kamil Sokoloski vs George Taylor - Two giants that will test the structural integrity of the mighty trigon.
This is usually the part where I have some snappy send off to wrap everything up and really sell you on watching but if you got all the way down here and still don’t feel like watching you’re either not telling the truth or you're lying. Thanks for reading!
Photos Courtesy of BKFC and BYB.
ความคิดเห็น