BKFC News

Cole Shelton - October 26, 2021

Mike Perry is the newest fighter of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship roster. On Tuesday it was revealed Perry signed a multi-fight deal with the sans gloves promotion. The news caught many by surprise but BKFC president, David Feldman, says this is something that has been in the works for quite some time.

Cole Shelton - October 26, 2021

Mike Perry is no longer on the UFC roster as he has signed a deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. MMAFighting was the first to report the news. BKFC confirmed the signing on Tuesday via a press release. According to the release, Perry signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion but details of the contract were not released.

Adam Martin - October 10, 2021

Former UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard shared hospital photos after breaking his orbital bone against veteran Joe Riggs in their BKFC fight. Guillard took on Riggs in a bare-knuckle boxing match in Billings, Montana on Saturday night. Riggs won the fight early in the first round when he caught Guillard with a big punch that sent him through the ropes. It was a huge punch, and Guillard immediately collapsed to the mat and held his face. It turns out that Guillard ended up breaking his orbital bone.

Adam D Martin - October 10, 2021

Former UFC fighter Melvin Guillard was brutally knocked out with one punch by veteran Joe Riggs in a BKFC match that took place this weekend. Guillard and Riggs were former UFC stars, but in the latter stages of their fighting careers, both men are now signed to BKFC. For Guillard, he is now 38 years old and was winless in his last 13 combat sports bouts. While Guillard was once one of the top lightweight fighters in MMA, that was over a decade ago. Now 20 years into his fighting career, Guillard is no longer the same explosive KO artist he once was. In fact, he is now the one who is getting knocked out. And on Saturday, he was brutally knocked out yet again, this time by Riggs.

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.

Chris Taylor - August 14, 2021

Paige VanZant (8-5 MMA, 0-2 BKF) was in a dark place following her loss to Rachael Ostovich at last months BKFC 19 event. The former UFC standouts, VanZant and Ostovich, collided for a second time on July 23, this after ‘PVZ’ had earned a submission victory in the pairs first encounter.

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.

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.

Chris Taylor - July 31, 2021

Former UFC fighter Alan Belcher looks almost unrecognizable ahead of his BKFC heavyweight debut which is set for August 20. Belcher (18-8 MMA) has not competed in combat sports since 2013, where he suffered a technical decision loss to Michael Bisping in a UFC middleweight bout.

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

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.

Chris Taylor - July 24, 2021

Paige VanZant has addressed the haters following her unanimous decision loss to Rachael Ostovich at last night’s BKFC 19 event. VanZant and Ostovich collided for a second time on Friday evening, this after ‘PVZ’ had earned a submission victory in the pairs first encounter under the UFC banner in 2019.