WBKFF News

Isaac Vallie-Flagg, WBKFF, BKFC 7
Isaac Vallie-Flagg

EXCLUSIVE | WBKFF star Isaac Vallie-Flagg details the subtle perks of fighting without gloves

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2018

Isaac Vallie-Flagg, who is a veteran of the Strikeforce and UFC cages, has seen pretty much everything when it comes to mixed martial arts. Last weekend, however, the MMA veteran ventured into a new and unfamiliar realm of combat sports: bare knuckle fighting. Vallie-Flagg did so as part of the inaugural show from upstart bare knuckle promotion World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF), battling Cory Simpson on the undercard of the event.

Bas Rutten, WBKFF
WBKFF

WBKFF President Bas Rutten issues lengthy statement on drama, corruption that led to promotion's first event

Tom Taylor - November 16, 2018

Last weekend, World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) hosted its first event. The sans gloves card, which went down in Casper, Wyoming, was headlined by a middleweight scrap between UFC veterans Chris Leben and Phil Baroni, and also featured a showdown between former UFC welterweight champ Johny Hendricks and Dakota Cochrane. Originally, this inaugural WBKFF card was supposed to include quite a few other big names, such as former NFL player Shawne Merriman and former Bellator star Brennan War. Unfortunately, both of these stars withdrew from the card citing contract issues — which was certainly not a good look for the upstart bare knuckle promotion.

Chris Leben
Phil Baroni

Chris Leben issues statement following first-round TKO victory over Phil Baroni

Chris Taylor - November 10, 2018

UFC veteran Chris Leben picked up his first win since 2011 at last nights “WBKFF1: Rise Of The Titans” event, defeating Phil Baroni by way of first-round TKO. “The Crippler” connected with a crisp punch that stunned Phil Baroni just seconds into the opening round. Shortly after that, “The New York Bad Ass” charged forward with a flurry but Chris Leben was able to land a beautiful counter left hand that sent Phil crashing face first into the canvas.

Chris Leben
Phil Baroni

Bare Knuckle Boxing Results: Chris Leben finishes Phil Baroni in Round 1 (VIDEO)

Christopher Taylor - November 9, 2018

Bare Knuckle Boxing took center stage tonight as WBKFF 1: Rise Of The Titans went down in Casper, Wyoming live from the Casper Events Center. Tonight’s event featured a handful of former UFC staples including former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, Phil Baroni, Chris Leben, Josh Neer and Isaac Vallie-Flagg.

brennan-ward
WBKFF

Brennan Ward backs out of WBKFF main event, 'WBKFF won't honor the contract'

Drake Riggs - November 7, 2018

This Friday night the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation is set to hold their very first event. However, it won’t be headlined by its original main event. Originally, the inaugural show for the WBKFF was to feature in its main event a middleweight showdown between former Bellator standout “Irish” Brennan Ward and former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.

Johny Hendricks
WBKFF

Johny Hendricks believes bareknuckle boxing experience could help him in future MMA fights

Tom Taylor - October 19, 2018

Earlier this year, former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks retired from MMA. As it turns out, however, this retirement was short-lived. Hendricks is now gearing up for a foray into the bloody world of bareknuckle boxing, as he’s set to battle former Bellator welterweight contender Brennan Ward in the main event of the debut show from World Bareknuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) on November 9. From the sounds of it, it’s also possible that Johny Hendricks returns to MMA in the future too. Speaking on MMAjunkie Radio this week, the former welterweight kingpin shared his feeling that the skills he develops in his bareknuckle boxing training might add a new layer to his MMA game.

Shawne Merriman
WBKFF

Former NFL star Shawne Merriman officially making move to bare knuckle boxing

Drake Riggs - August 1, 2018

If you don’t think that the world of bare-knuckle boxing is trying to leave its mark, then guess again. Yet another high profile name is giving the gloveless fighting art a try. After the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation’s announcement last month of the signings of Chris Leben and Phil Baroni to fight each other, they’re now continuing to add to their roster.