Category: BKFC

No UFC? Paige VanZant talks possible MMA future

Posted on by Zane Simon in Bare Knuckle Fighting, BKFC, MMA News, UFC News

Not every fighter who earns some level of fame in the UFC finds a way to take it with them once they leave the promotion. For many, their time inside the Octagon and the advertising/media opportunities that provides are the absolute pinnacle of their notoriety.

It’s a credit then to Paige VanZant that she has managed to continue finding celebrity and success, even after her combat sports career began to falter. Now just 29-years-old, ’12 Gauge’ has not competed in a fight of any sort since 2021, and hasn’t recorded a win inside the cage or the boxing ring since 2019.

Paige VanZant was ready to leave the UFC

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, OnlyFans star and current PFL broadcast team member Paige VanZant talked about her exit from the world’s largest MMA promotion. Back in 2019, VanZant spoke about her negotiations with the UFC, outlining her desire to get a big jump in pay from the Endeavor-owned company. More recently, however, VanZant suggested that her exit the following year wasn’t so much motivated by money as it was her waning interest in the promotion itself.

“Me re-signing with the UFC would have been the safe choice, but I just wasn’t happy anymore,” VanZant explained. “It’s not ill will toward the UFC, but I just knew I needed something else. I needed a change. I signed with the UFC when I was 19. I had my first fight when I was 20. I need something different. I need to spark my passion again.

“Looking back, I kind of had my mind made up that I was ready to leave the UFC. So when I became a free agent and they came with their offer to re-sign me, I was already moved on. That part of my life is closed, and I was ready for the next chapter, and I didn’t know what it would be.”

Instead, VanZant landed a reportedly massive contract to compete in bare-knuckle boxing with BKFC. She’s fought twice in her new promotional home, losing both bouts by unanimous decision. Despite the lack of success, and no firm plans when she might fight again, VanZant is apparently still dedicated to appearing at least once more in the ring.

An MMA return?

As for MMA? If she ever decides to take that plunge again, PVZ only has eyes for one promotion.

“Working with the PFL, the way they treat their athletes, it’s absolutely incredible,” VanZant explained. “And it just opened up my mind and my options so much to where I get to do pretty much anything I want to.”

“If I were to do MMA again, it would definitely be with the PFL. I love the way they treat everybody. Their organization is incredible. I’ve been loving doing commentary work for them and doing behind the scenes, just because I do like being on camera, so I’ve been having fun with that. But I do believe as of right now, just in my mind, if I were going to do MMA it would be with PFL.”

No word if or when fans might expect to see VanZant back in fighting form. With a massive income from her social media platforms, she’s clearly in a position to compete only when she feels the itch. Until then, fight fans will just have to wait.

Conor McGregor vs. Mike Perry? | Fights to Make

Posted on by Zane Simon in BKFC, BKFC 41: Mike Perry vs. Luke Rockhold, MMA News, UFC Editorial, UFC Vegas 72: Song vs. Simon

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Even going in to this weekend it was clear that the UFC was not going to own the show on Saturday night. There were no major boxing PPVs, Bellator and the PFL were taking a break. There was no obvious competition. Just a strange sideshow called BKFC, and their ongoing attempt to bring bareknuckle boxing back to the main stream with a fight between Mike Perry and Luke Rockhold.

They haven’t quite hit that mark yet, but BKFC 41 went a long way toward the goal. Especially with UFC superstar Conor McGregor showing up to cut a (seemingly) free promo for the event and square up with Mike Perry fresh off Perry’s detonation of a former UFC champ.

What is Conor McGregor doing?

I’m not going to try and spin my way through matching up the whole BKFC 41 roster. After all I can’t pretend to know who the obvious next contender for Christine Ferea might be, or why Conor McGregor had a belt over his shoulder when neither he nor Mike Perry are title holders. What I do know, however, is that Conor McGregor has about as much chance of fighting in the BKFC ring as a graham cracker has of making it through a sandblaster. What I also know is, after Saturday night, that is suddenly a fight I absolutely want to see.

I may not have any special love for Mike Perry, or Conor McGregor, and I may find BKFC’s matchmaking worryingly predatory. But good promotion supersedes sense. And that was good promotion. If only I could believe it would come to anything.

Now let’s get to the rest of it.

Song Yadong

Heading into fight night, this seemed very much like a fight Ricky Simon was ready to win. Much was made about his extreme cut to bantamweight and—given how much a volume takedown game was a part of Cory Sandhagen’s win over the Team Alpha Male fighter—Simon’s size, wrestling, and impossible pace, felt like they should give him the edge. They didn’t. Trouble started immediately with Song’s kicking game, but more than that he was able to punish the predictability of Simon’s entries to shut down the bulk of the wrestling before it even had a chance to get started.

The end result was a 5th round TKO, and another chance for Song to take a stab at the very elite of bantamweight. After this win, he called for a possible rematch with Marlon Vera, or maybe a bout against Sean O’Malley. That O’Malley fight seems entirely unlikely, assuming that ‘Sugar’ Sean is still primed for the winner of Cejudo/Sterling next week. The Vera fight’s not a bad idea. A little strange considering it’s a fight he’s already won before.

In part, of course, all this will depend on what actually happens at UFC 288. If Henry Cejudo wins, that puts Merab Dvalishvili in a better spot to take a swing at the belt. If the Georgian isn’t about to get that chance, however, I’d be very happy to see him fight someone like Song Yadong. Or, there are fights with Rob Font and Pedro Munhoz. I’d previously suggested Munhoz for this booking after his last fight. But the way everything stands now, I’ll say Song Yadong vs. Rob Font seems like an exceptionally fun action bout. It’s also much more likely to get booked than Song suddenly getting another crack at a title contender.

Ricky Simon

If this was a solid (mild) underdog performance from Song Yadong, it was also something of a disappointment from Ricky Simon. The Team Oyama talent hit one blast double late in the second round and landed some solid GnP as a result, but even that ended with Song scrambling quickly to his feet—it wasn’t a success Simon was ever able to repeat. He’s put a lot of work into his boxing, made real, tangible improvements there, but that doesn’t mean he’s a natural kickboxing talent who can rely on his strikes alone to take over a fight at the highest levels. Song was a hard reminder of that fact.

Still, bantamweight being the constant sharktank that it is, there’s no shortage of men for Simon to fight in contests that should prove every bit as thrilling. Song Yadong called out Marlon Vera, but ‘Chito’ is coming off a loss. As is Dominick Cruz, Adrian Yanez, Chris Gutierrez, and Said Numagomedov. To my knowledge, none of them has a fight booked. Do any of them sound like the right fight? I’m not so sure.

In this case, I’m going to go winner/loser instead. Give Simon a chance to jump back in against someone with a little momentum to their name. Pedro Munhoz didn’t exactly thrill in his bout against Gutierrez, but he did prove that he’s still awfully dangerous. He’s also been a tough fighter to tangle with on the mats for years. Munhoz vs. Simon feels like it could turn into something very cool.

Caio Borralho

For a moment or two it seemed like Michal Oleksiejczuk might know exactly what to do with Caio Borralho. He kept on the front foot, countered any and all of Borralho’s aggression, and threw punches in volume. He even stuffed some early takedowns. But once ‘Hussar’ started to lose just a little pep in his step, those takedown entries from Borralho began working with much greater frequency. The Brazilian may not have proven any kind of submission machine in his UFC career to date, but there’s always time to start changing the narrative. That’s what he did in the second round with a rear-naked choke.

That puts Borralho at 4-0 in the Octagon, and seems like it will likely start shoving him into deeper waters in a hurry. Edmen Shahbazyan has a bout next month against Anthony Hernandez, seeing Borralho against the winner of that fight feels like it would answer some important questions about his ability to be a contender. There’s also fights with Bruno Silva, or hot prospects like Joe Pyfer or Christian Leroy Duncan. But I like the idea of Borralho vs. the Shahbazyan/Hernandez winner. Get that W and he’s knocking on a spot in the rankings.

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Watch out for the booger-man: Mike Perry picks nose, wipes it on Luke Rockhold at BKFC 41 faceoff

Posted on by Zane Simon in BKFC, Boxing, Celebrity Boxing

Nobody’s ever confused Mike Perry for being a class act. Last year the former UFC welterweight got into things with Russian middleweight Magomed Ismailov, while traveling to corner longtime friend Alex Nicholson at an MMA event where he wasn’t even set to compete. His time in the Octagon was plagued with accusations of racist language and insults from Perry’s corner, and a long history of questionable statements from Perry himself. That’s to say nothing of the domestic dispute accusations between Perry and his romantic partners.

That said, the man has always known how to draw attention. When he finally left the UFC in 2021, following back-to-back losses to Daniel Rodriguez and Tim Means, promoters came running. Mike Perry quickly jumped on the recent trend of modified rules boxing bouts, hooking up first with Triller and their “Triad Combat” promotion. Soon after he made the move to BKFC and bare-knuckle boxing.

After wins over Julian Lane and Michael ‘Venom’ Page in 2022, Perry is all set to return to action this April, against former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. The two men faced off at a media event this week, where things got pretty nasty.

No, not that kind of nasty. Just gross.

Mike Perry picked his nose and wiped it on Rockhold’s jacket

Okay, sure, it’s a goofy coat. Rockhold looks like he’s wearing his grandma’s carpet. And Rockhold did kinda instigate the exchange by getting all weird with his fist pose. But still, combat sports are about dignity and honor, gentlemen.

Perry and Rockhold are set to face off in the main event of BKFC 41, going down on April 29th in Colorado. The fight card is also expected to host the (bare knuckle) boxing debut of former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, taking on former featherweight title contender Chad Mendes. Alvarez hasn’t competed in any form of combat sport since 2021, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Rae Yoon-ok in ONE Championship. Alvarez announced his split with ONE the following year, after just four fights in three years with the promotion.

Luke Rockhold looking for first win in more than 5 years

For Rockhold, this turn to boxing marks just the latest in his extended ‘is he or isn’t he’ retirement saga. The longtime American Kickboxing Academy talent first hung up his gloves back in 2019, after a loss to Jan Blachowicz in what was intended to be a long-term move to light the light heavyweight division. After a little time sitting on the sidelines, however, the then-37-year-old returned to action in 2022, for a FOTY candidate against Paulo Costa.

Despite the thrilling nature of the bout, Rockhold once again announced his retirement from MMA after the loss, this time with the intention of securing his release from the UFC for the potential to compete as a boxer. The bout against Perry will mark Rockhold’s first time competing officially outside of BJJ and MMA competition. Since leaving the UFC, Rockhold has also announced that he may yet return to some in-cage action as well, now that he’s a free agent.

Bare Knuckle FC 41: Perry vs. Rockhold takes place at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO. Here’s a look at the complete fight card lineup.

BKFC 41 Fight Card

  • Mike Perry vs. Luke Rockhold
  • Eddie Alvarez vs. Chad Mendes
  • Bec Rawlings vs. Christine Ferea
  • Steve Herelius vs. Josh Copeland
  • Chris Camozzi vs. Dan Spohn
  • Brandon Girtz vs. Christian Torres
  • Mitch Sybold vs. Jack Willoughby
  • BJ Lawrence vs. Wayna Reid
  • Jessie Stalder vs. Roderick Stewart

Video: UFC vet Alan Belcher picks up another big KO win in bare knuckle boxing

Posted on by Zane Simon in BKFC, Boxing, Front Page

For almost seven years between 2006 & 2013, Alan Belcher was a premiere action fighter for the UFC. The ‘Talent’ made 15 trips to the Octagon over that stretch, picking up four ‘of the night’ bonuses along the way. Of his nine UFC victories, only one went to a judges decision. When he was competing, fans were almost always guaranteed a show.

Unfortunately, at just 29-years-old repeated eye injuries ended Belcher’s MMA career. 2021 saw a comeback of sorts for the owner of American Top Team D’Iberville—and a return to his fight-finishing ways—with a career inside the ring instead of the cage.

Belcher is currently 6-0 as a boxer, with 3 wins under traditional rules and 3 wins under the BKFC banner and bare-knuckle rules. The latest of those came via a knockout over 46-year old 6-7 MMA veteran Frank Tate. Tate made his own move to bare knuckle boxing in 2020, and was 2-1-1 heading into this bout, competing entirely on BKFC events. Check out a highlight of Belcher’s latest handiwork below.

Fellow UFC vet Robbie ‘Problems’ Peralta competed in the June 11th BKFC card’s co-main event, winning a split decision over 14-5 former MMA fighter Martin Brown. Peralta made the jump over to bare knuckle boxing in 2018, following a loss in Bellator to Juan Archuleta. He’s currently 3-0 in the boxing ring.

After his victory, Belcher took to social media to declare himself as “the #1 contender” for the BKFC heavyweight title. That belt currently belongs to former MMA journeyman Arnold Adams. Adams is currently 7-1 under the BKFC banner, with his lone loss coming to UFC vet Chase Sherman. Adams captured BKFC gold in November of last year with a unanimous decision victory over former UFC & Bellator fighter Joey Beltran.

Wicked uppercut KO highlights BKFC 24: Hunt vs. Riggs

Posted on by Zane Simon in BKFC, Boxing, Front Page

BKFC’s habit of bringing in fighters with little-to-no pro boxing experience for bare knuckle fights may not be creating a big new wave of future combat sports stars, but it’s absolutely leading to some brutal KO highlights, and this last weekend was no exception.

While former regional MMA neophyte Lorenzo Hunt defended his BKFC light heavyweight title in the BKFC against longtime journeyman and former UFC talent Joe ‘Diesel’ Riggs, the night’s viral moment belonged to a fighter way down on the undercard.

5-2 pro boxer Billy Wagner made his bare knuckle debut against 1-6 MMA fighter Jacob Kreitel earlier in the evening. The bout lasted just 40 seconds, until Wagner landed a massive uppercut-hook combo that sent Kreitel crashing to the mat.

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While video from the main event has yet to make its way onto social media, Riggs didn’t fare much better up at the top of the card. Hunt retained his title with a second round KO over the 39-year-old fighting out of Phoenix, AZ. All told ten of the night’s twelve bouts ended inside the distance, including an unfortunate TKO due to “vomiting.”

Here’s a compete rundown of the BKFC 24 results.

Lorenzo Hunt def. Joe Riggs via KO at 1:12 of Round 2
Rusty Crowder def. Louie Lopez via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 2:00 of Round 1
Leo Pla def. Leo Bercier via KO at 1:17 of Round 3
Kai Stewart def. Daniel Gary via KO at 1:10 of Round 1
Andy Nguyen def. Cassie Robb via UD
Sawyer Depee def. William Dunkle via KO at 1:17 of Round 1
Billy Wagner def. Jacob Kreitel via KO at 0:43 of Round 1
Andrew Angelcor def. Timmy Mason via UD
Dallas Davison def. Erik Lopez via KO at 1:08 of Round 2
Braeden Tovey def. JorDan Christensen via TKO (vomiting) at 2:00 of Round 4
James Dennis def. Brian Maxwell via KO at 0:26 of Round 2
Dylan Schulte def. Darrick Gates via KO at 0:10 of Round 1