bare knuckle boxing

Harry Kettle - October 6, 2021

UFC president Dana White has given his thoughts on the recent passing of BKFC fighter Justin Thornton. It was confirmed just a few days ago that Thornton had died due to injuries sustained following his 20-second knockout defeat at BKFC 20. There’s been an outpouring of support from the mixed martial arts community ever since then with many paying tribute to the 38-year-old and what he achieved in the sport.

Adam D Martin - October 5, 2021

Dillon Cleckler issued a statement after his opponent Justin Thornton died following their recent bare-knuckle boxing fight for BKFC. On Monday, news broke that Thornton had died as a result of injuries sustained in his recent BKFC fight in August. In that fight, Cleckler knocked Thornton out and he faceplanted and was left partially paralyzed. After hearing the news that Thornton died, Cleckler took to his social media to release a heartfelt statement about his opponent’s death. According to Cleckler, Thornton’s cause of death was actually pneumonia.

Adam D Martin - October 5, 2021

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship issued a statement after MMA fighter and BKFC boxer Justin Thornton died following his KO loss at BKFC 20. Thornton was brutally knocked out during a BKFC event by Dillon Cleckler this past August. Thornton was knocked out with one punch and then faceplanted to the ground, which resulted in the fighter being partially paralyzed. For over the past month, Thornton has been in a hospital on a ventilator. On Monday, news broke that he had passed away.

Cole Shelton - October 4, 2021

Justin Thornton, who fought 24 times in MMA and was 0-1 in BKFC, died following his knockout loss at BKFC 20 in August. He was 38-years-old. Thornton, who was making his Bare Knuckle debut at BKFC 20 on August 20 in Mississippi, took on Dillon Cleckler, who was 2-0 in BKFC in a heavyweight bout. Both men also had MMA experience as Thornton was 6-18 and Cleckler was 11-1. It seemed like a mismatch on paper and it was exactly that as Cleckler KO’d Thornton in just 19 seconds and Thornton left the ring on a stretcher and immediately was taken to the hospital.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

Former longtime UFC veteran Diego Sanchez is expected to sign with BKFC and have some “really exciting matchups” with the promotion. Sanchez was released by the UFC a few months ago after his former coach and mentor, Joshua Fabia, got into a dispute with the promotion regarding Sanchez’s medicals. Sanchez has since left Fabia to be on his own, but it doesn’t appear a return to the UFC is in the cards. Instead, it appears as though BKFC will likely be the next promotion for Sanchez.

Harry Kettle - August 20, 2021

Dillon Danis has laughed off the idea of a bare-knuckle boxing showdown with UFC veteran Diego Sanchez. While he may not have competed in mixed martial arts for over two years, Danis still seems to be one of the most talked about Bellator fighters out there – likely due to his association with friend and training partner Conor McGregor.

Harry Kettle - August 19, 2021

Jorge Masvidal has announced that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will headline the second Gamebred Fighting Championship event. In recent months Masvidal, who is coming off the back of consecutive defeats to Kamaru Usman, has opted to kickstart his own bare-knuckle promotion to run alongside his mixed martial arts career. Bare-knuckle is where “Gamebred” first cut his teeth in the combat sports realm and now, he wants to give fighters a chance to do the same.

Adam D Martin - August 15, 2021

Former UFC featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes explained why MMA is more dangerous than bare-knuckle boxing, in his opinion. Mendes recently announced that he will come out of retirement and fight for BKFC. We haven’t seen “Money” fight since a 2018 knockout loss to Alexander Volkanovski, and the end of his UFC career did not go well for him as he lost three of his final four fights in the promotion — all by knockout. However, after taking nearly three years off to rest and recover, Mendes has the itch to compete again and he will next take his talents to BKFC.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

Former UFC featherweight title contender Chad Mendes revealed that his former organization gave him permission to make a comeback in BKFC. Mendes recently signed a contract with BKFC to make his return to combat sports in bare-knuckle boxing. Now 36 years old, Mendes hasn’t competed in MMA since December 2018 when he was knocked out by current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Mendes struggled on his way out of the UFC, losing three of his last four bouts, but to be fair to him, those losses came against Volkanovski, Conor McGregor, and Frankie Edgar.

Cole Shelton - August 10, 2021

Diego Sanchez is close to signing with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, David Feldman, the president of BKFC revealed. Sanchez was recently released from his UFC contract, in part due to his relationship with Joshua Fabia which he since ended. Since the release, however, he has been open to the fact he wanted to return and even hinted at a move to BKFC, which appears to be nearly official.

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

Former UFC women’s star Paige VanZant is in a “must-win situation” for her next fight in BKFC, confirmed promoter David Feldman. After leaving the UFC last year, VanZant made the surprise decision to sign with BKFC and made her debut in bare-knuckle fighting. Most fans figured that if she was going to leave the UFC, that she would follow her husband, middleweight Austin Vanderford, to Bellator. Instead, PVZ made the surprise decision to sign with BKFC, and things haven’t gone well.

Cole Shelton - August 4, 2021

Chad Mendes has ended his retirement. The former UFC title challenger retired after his loss to Alex Volkanovski at UFC 232 in December of 2018. Since then, Mendes has remained in the gym but there were no talks of a possible comeback. However, over the past couple of months, he has teased a return to the sport saying the itch is back.

Adam D Martin - July 26, 2021

Paige VanZant reacted after losing her BKFC fight to rival Rachael Ostovich, saying that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” VanZant lost a unanimous decision to Ostovich in their rematch that headlined this past weekend’s BKFC 19 card in Tampa, Florida. Although VanZant was the betting favorite heading into the fight, Ostovich surprised a lot of onlookers as she showed improved boxing as she was able to outstrike VanZant and take home the decision on the judges’ scorecards. The rivals are now 1-1 overall in their all-time series, with VanZant holding a previous win over Ostovich by submission in the UFC. With Ostovich now beating VanZant in their rematch in BKFC, it’s possible we could see a trilogy fight between them one day.

Christopher Taylor - July 25, 2021

Former UFC fighters Hector Lombard and Tyron Woodley got into a heated confrontation during Friday’s BKFC 19 event in Florida. Lombard, a former Bellator champion and current BKFC title holder, apparently had a score to settle with the former UFC welterweight champion and decided to confront Woodley at the event.

Adam Martin - July 25, 2021

BKFC stars Joey Beltran and Britain Hart recently announced that they were married before this past Friday’s BKFC 19 event in Tampa, Florida. Beltran, a former UFC heavyweight fighter who is the current BKFC heavyweight champion, took to his social media to announce that he tied the knot with Britain, a women’s fighter for BKFC who earlier this year defeated Paige VanZant in an upset. The two combat sports stars posted a number of photos from them tying the knot in the days before BKFC 19.

Adam Martin - July 25, 2021

Former UFC fighter-turned-bare knuckle boxer Rachael Ostovich reacted after beating Paige VanZant at BKFC 19, saying “I had so much fun.” Ostovich was the betting underdog against VanZant but she pulled off the upset when she won a unanimous decision over her former UFC rival in what was Ostovich’s bare-knuckle boxing debut. Ostovich and VanZant previously fought in the Octagon at UFC on ESPN+1: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw in January 2019, with VanZant winning the fight by submission. With VanZant having already experienced a BKFC fight when she lost to Britain Hart earlier this year, the oddsmakers and the betting public felt that PVZ should be favored to beat Ostovich, but the Hawaiian proved the doubters wrong as she took home the decision.

Christopher Taylor - July 23, 2021

Paige VanZant has issued a statement following her loss to Rachael Ostovich in tonight’s BKFC 19 headliner. VanZant and Ostovich collide for a second time this evening, this after ‘PVZ’ had earned a submission victory in the pairs first encounter under the UFC banner in 2019.

Chris Taylor - July 23, 2021

Former UFC fighters Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich squared off for a second time in the headliner of tonight’s BKFC 19 event. VanZant had made her highly anticipated BKFC debut earlier this year when she took on Britain Hart. Unfortunately for ’12 Gauge’ she went on to lose that contest by way of unanimous decision.