MMA News

Author: Dylan Bowker

  • BKFC 79 Fighter Is a Taylor Starling Fan but Aims to End Her Fighting Career in Sturgis

    BKFC 79 Fighter Is a Taylor Starling Fan but Aims to End Her Fighting Career in Sturgis

    Shelby Cannon is someone who sings the praises of Taylor Starling, and even her own daughter loves ‘Killa Bee’, but that won’t stop ‘Boom Boom’ from aiming to put an end to Starling’s competitive combat career in BKFC’s return to Sturgis. Shelby Cannon will clash with Taylor Starling at BKFC 79: Gogo vs. Lane in a consequential co-main event clash on August 2nd.

    Cannon appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker and when referencing a prior interview done with Paul Pickett where the context was presented of Taylor Starling doing so many interviews for BKFC on the digital content creation end and it seeming like Cannon was intimating that Starling would be done fighting after their BKFC Sturgis contest.

    When asked if that was the sentiment that was being expressed there or if some things were being misconstrued at all, Cannon stated,

    “No, I think that you’re 100% correct. I was meaning that because again, I think she; if I’m making a speculation, which I will, I’ll make a speculation. So, let you get in my head a little bit is that I don’t think that she had any intentions on fighting anybody else that was going to be higher ranked. I think that because my name came out there, she thought it’d be an easy win and it would get her back on the charts and it would give her another W, which is great.”

    “Then from there, she was going to be able to fight somebody she’s already fought. Being in the game, we know that it’s always easier to fight somebody the second time than it is the first time. Britain Hart is a huge contender and I just feel like naturally somebody’s going to look for the easiest way to get to the top where I was not. I mean, I’m willing to fight anybody and everybody because I’ll tell you, I mean, me and my coach, we talked about Sturgis and we talked about Taylor Starling.”

    “I mean, I met Taylor Starling in Utah when I did my my debut. I mean, I’m a Taylor Starling fan to be completely honest with you. I mean, I’ve been watching Taylor Starling for a long, long time. I’ve seen where she was at when she first came into BKFC and I’ve seen where she’s at right now. I think she had way more intensity and she had way more grit at the beginning of her career. I’ve seen her do these promotions and, you know, being there with the the mic and interviewing. I mean, that’s her bread and butter.”

    “She’s so natural with people. Like she talks about being like a showman and that’s great, but like being a showman and being a professional bare knuckle fighter is not the same thing. Yeah, maybe they go hand in hand when you’re trying to make money, but I mean at the end of the day, I’m not a showman. I’m a bare knucklefighter. I mean, that’s what I go in there and I do is I win fights. I train every single day, every single week. I’m coming here because there’s just a lot that needs to be done.”

    https://twitter.com/bareknucklefc/status/1912880810132152568/video/1

    In BKFC, “you’re either a dog or you’re not” says Cannon

    As she continued to give her overview of this BKFC matchup in the context of some of the differences she sees between herself and Starling in the world of bare knuckle, Cannon continued,

    “I think that keeping the people in the sport that want to stay in the sport and not have all these other ideas of, I mean I don’t know what her ideas are, but I’ve seen a lot of interviews with her. She wants to open a freaking coffee shop. She wants to do interviews with fighters. I mean she’s got all these other plans and like she’s got all these plans after she’s a fighter. I’ve had many people ask me when are you going to stop fighting, Shelby?”

    “Well, I’m going to fight for as long as I can fight because mentally, emotionally, physically, all these things, it’s good for me. Why would I have a date already set on when I’m going to, oh, I’m going to stop fighting when I decide I want to open up a nail salon. Well, no, I’ve already opened up a nail salon. Thank you very much. Oh, I’m going to stop fighting when I decide that I want to go to church. No, I’m sorry. I already do that. Oh, I’m going to stop fighting when I decide I have all these other plans.”

    “No, that’s just not the way it works [laughs]. It’s just not. So, I see her being a really good interviewer and I think she’s at the the end of her career. But all props to her, though, I think she’s just a great person and I think she’s a good role model. My daughter really looks up to Taylor Starling. She loves Taylor Starling. I think she’s a beautiful person like inside and out. But at the end of the day though, the women, we’re growing. But you’re either a dog or you’re not.”

    “You’re staying in or you’re not. I mean, she can say that I’m talking crap. I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s what this is. But at the end of the day, she’s going to have to really fight me a lot differently than she’s ever fought anybody else to get her win.”

  • BKFC 79 Fighter on Big Slaveski vs. Lane Title Bout “Everybody Keeps Saying He’s Going to Get Knocked Out”

    BKFC 79 Fighter on Big Slaveski vs. Lane Title Bout “Everybody Keeps Saying He’s Going to Get Knocked Out”

    BKFC 79 is headlined by a clash for the vacant welterweight championship with Gorjan Slaveski looking to become a two time champion while Julian Lane aims to capture the strap after being a company stalwart and one of the card’s co-main event fighters has commented on the headliner.

    Shelby Cannon will clash with Taylor Starling at BKFC 79: Gogo vs. Lane in the co-main event on August 2nd. Cannon appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker to cover several subjects related to her own high stakes strawweight bout as well as the welterweight main event. As the former BKB title challenger offered up her thoughts on the BKFC title fight between ‘GoGo’ and ‘Let Me Bang’ Lane, Shelby Cannon said,

    “I think it’s going to be a good fight. Well Julian, he ended up fighting one of my teammates, in a sense, and he beat him. So I know what kind of power he has. I know how good he is. So everybody keeps saying he’s going to get knocked out. I don’t know. I don’t think anybody really knows. I think they’re both very high IQ fighters and it could go either way. But I’m probably pulling for [Julian] Lane.”

    BKFC 79 Main Event Overview Heading Into Sturgis Return

    BKFC Sturgis will end the night off with the number five ranked contender in Lane taking on the former welterweight champion who never lost his belt inside of the squared circle in Slaveski.

    For Lane, he is riding a four fight win streak heading into this title bid with a 75 percent finishing rate through that recent stretch. The veteran of multiple seasons of The Ultimate Fighter has put together wins over Murat Kazgan, Evgeny Kurdanov, Alfredo Angulo, Cameron VanCamp through this recent stretch of victories.

    Lane has also thrown down in gloveless combat with the likes of Jimmy Sweeney, Leonard Garcia, number one pound for pound fighter in the company as well as current BKFC middleweight champion David Mundell, ‘the King of Violence’ Mike Perry, and former BKFC middleweight champion Thiago Alves to name but a few.

    Conversely for Slaveski, he has a spotless record in the BKFC ring and as mentioned is returning with the aim of regaining what he never ultimately lost inside of the ring. The last time ‘GoGo’ was seen in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, he was also in a vacant welterweight title bout that saw Slaveski defeat Jake Lindsey on points at BKFC 49.

    Since then, Slaveski has been plying his trade in the Karate Combat pit with a loss in his debut effort there only to since put together a pair of finishes under the KC banner to close out 2024.

    With prior welterweight champion Austin Trout dealing with some injury issues beforehand and now mapping out a path to pursue lightweight gold in BKFC’s four man tournament, the welterweight strap became declared vacant once again. That will all change on August 2nd when Lane and Slaveski knuckle up and toe the line to crown a new kingpin of 165 pounds on Saturday night at BKFC 79.

  • Former Michael ‘Venom’ Page Conqueror Breaks Down Jared Cannonier Fight at UFC 319

    Michael ‘Venom’ Page prepares to keep carving out a path at 185 pounds by facing a former UFC middleweight title challenger in the coming weeks and a former welterweight adversary of MVP’s has weighed in on that bout. Logan Storley is preparing to face Thad Jean for the welterweight tournament title in the PFL Smart Cage on August 1st and appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts to cover several subjects ahead of this high stakes fight.

    While the credentialed amateur wrestler has a chance to add a PFL title distinction to his resume, Storley is no stranger to MMA gold and that came at the expense of Page. Storley would defeat MVP by split decision at Bellator 281 in May 2022 to capture the promotion’s interim welterweight strap. When touching upon his personal history with Page and also offering up his thoughts on MVP’s looming bout with Jared Cannonier at UFC 319 on August 16th, Storley said,

    “Yeah, obviously a big fight in the UK there when I fought him for the belt. I went out there and did something that no one has ever been able to do to him is take him down really and control him, especially for five rounds. We’ve seen him since he got into the UFC is how hard he is to navigate on the feet. No one’s really stayed on the feet with him. So Cannonier is big, but Cannonier is nowhere near as fast as MVP. So it’ll be really interesting, I guess, how it all plays out. But MVP’s speed and distance control, it’s a different level.”

    Michael ‘Venom’ Page stills sees unfinished business at welterweight

    Michael ‘Venom’ Page is getting in some middleweight matchups as of late but he is not totally turning his back on 170 pounds as of yet. This was expressed by Page ahead of his fight earlier this year that saw him jump up to middleweight and hand surging prospect Shara Magomedov his first ever pro mixed martial arts defeat.

    Leading into that February clash with Shara ‘Bullet’, MVP got across this point during an interview with MMA Junkie when Michael ‘Venom’ Page quipped [via Newsweek],

    “If there is another opportunity at middleweight that looks good, looks juicy, looks tasty, 100 percent I’ll be there to do it again. For me, timing-wise, going to middleweight, knowing I had to go through Christmas and everything, it helped. It helped a lot. It meant I could enjoy my Christmas a lot more.”

    “I’ve still got a lot of business that I want to handle at welterweight. So for me, this is a one-off, exciting fight at that weight. Maybe in the future you see me there but for now, I still find it comfortable to get to welterweight, and I’ve still got people I’d love to fight.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/DMmonTSovaZ/?hl=en&img_index=1

  • Former BKB Title Challenger Feels “Good About Being a [BKFC] Title Contender” With a Big BKFC 79 Win

    Former BKB Title Challenger Feels “Good About Being a [BKFC] Title Contender” With a Big BKFC 79 Win

    Shelby Cannon is no stranger to vying for bare knuckle gold and could find herself in another one of those opportunities with a strong showing this weekend. Cannon will clash with Taylor Starling at BKFC 79: Gogo vs. Lane in the co-main event on August 2nd and ‘Boom Boom’ Cannon appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker to cover several subjects leading into this high stakes fight.

    Sarah Shell is the only contender ranked above the number two ranked strawweight Starling right now. Presuming they do Britain Hart vs. Shell next for the strawweight belt, when asked if BKFC has communicated to her that the winner of this fight could be vying for the title after that, Cannon said,

    “Not specifically. I mean, they obviously are making me feel good about being a title contender. Depending on the outcome of the fight, which makes sense, of course. I mean, she’s ranked number two, so yeah, I beat her [a title shot could come]. However, they make it very clear that it depends on on how the fight goes. You know, they’re looking for certain things as far as I think how they’re going to match people up. Like we said before, style versus style. Aggression is important, you know, having a purpose in what we’re doing here.”

    Shelby Cannon has less BKFC experience but touts higher world ranking than Starling

    As she further expounded upon this thought while referencing her multiple bare knuckle bouts on the BKB circuit prior to this sophomore BKFC outing in the coming days, Cannon continued,

    “I think they’re also looking for people who are interested in staying in this sport and helping grow BKFC. Although there are people, kind of touching on something you had said about people like people looking into the sport not knowing what kind of experience that I’m bringing to the table, I agree with that. But one thing I’m real grateful for is that the promotion of BKFC itself and the people that are behind the scenes, they haven’t overlooked me and they haven’t taken me for granted.”

    “They’ve done their homework, they’ve done their research, and they understand that me and Taylor is a good fight. So, even though I’m not ranked in the division, I am ranked in the world and I am ranked high in the world. Technically, I’m ranked higher than [Taylor] Starling. So I am 100% grateful to them. I think that they are also looking to grow women in this sport. I think they’re giving us a huge opportunity in being the co-main. There’s just there’s a lot going on and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

  • Thad Jean: “Coming Here to Collect What’s Mine” in Big PFL 2025 Finals

    Thad Jean: “Coming Here to Collect What’s Mine” in Big PFL 2025 Finals

    Thad Jean will test skills against Logan Storley for the welterweight tournament championship at PFL World Tournament 8 on August 1st. Jean appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and when asked about the momentum of beating a former champion in former Bellator MMA titleholder Jason Jackson to punch his ticket for this PFL title bid, Jean said,

    “Yeah, exactly that. I mean, I wish the fight would have been me versus Jason Jackson for the finals actually. That would have been such a fun fight. But I’m cool with whatever I get because at the end of the day since the beginning of the year I’ve been saying that, I’ve been praying that in the name of Jesus that I would be the PFL welterweight 2025 tournament champion.”

    “Before I was even called up as an alternate. So this all just is something that’s falling into place. I’m just coming here to collect what’s mine and everything that comes with it is just an added bonus, a side quest. Which is really fun to do and I like playing games. So I love doing side quests [laughs].”

    While Jason Jackson is also a teammate of Storley’s at Kill Cliff FC, ‘The Silverback’ does not put much stock into the idea that Jackson can impart his anecdotal experience fighting Jean to Storley that will meaningfully inform this fight.

    Thad Jean thinks Logan Storley is not ‘there yet’, sees first round finish

    Thad Jean mentioned being into playing games earlier and also has an affinity for anime. The arc of an anime hero typically sees that figure face incrementally stronger adversaries as time goes on and when asked if Storley fits with that kind of anime narrative progression in his PFL Smart Cage journey, Jean stated,

    “No. No, not at all. I don’t think Logan is there yet, you know. I feel like if Logan was on my side of the bracket, he wouldn’t be in the finals. Does that make sense to you? I feel like if I was where Logan was and Logan was where I was, I would have been in the finals still and he would not have, you know. I had the harder side of the bracket. He won against good opponents but I would say none on the level that my side were on or that I am on or one that he’s on.”

    The unbeaten pro MMA fighter mentioned seeing Logan Storley as a one-dimensional fighter with a singular wrestling focus, also mentioning instances of seeing fatigue set in within Storley’s heavy wrestling approach at key junctures in the fight and how Jean plays that into his perceived path to victory. As far as what the headlines will read after the dust settles on this PFL welterweight tournament championship outing, Jean quipped,

    “Haitian representative Thad Jean, Thad ‘The Silverback’ Jean, TKO’s, knocks out Logan Storley in the first round. Gaining himself his first world MMA title, becoming the 2025 PFL welterweight tournament champion. Solidifying his position as one of the top welterweights. I think that’s what it’s going to say. I know it’s going to say something like this [laughs].”

  • Stamp Fairtex Returns at ONE 173! Big Next Bout Has Been Booked for November

    Stamp Fairtex Returns at ONE 173! Big Next Bout Has Been Booked for November

    Stamp Fairtex is preparing for her return to competitive combat and the former three sport champ will return to the ONE Circle with a defined date and opponent locked in. One of the sports that Fairtex has held ONE gold in is kickboxing and she will be returning to action under that ruleset in the fourth quarter of the calendar year.

    Kana Morimoto will be stepping into the ring against Stamp at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan which transpires on November 16th. The long awaited return of one of the promotion’s biggest stars will come at ONE 173 in what is a massive matchup that bolsters that card.

    Stamp Fairtex returns after over a year on the sidelines after sustaining an injury while training for a planned fight last Summer. Fairtex was initially slated to defend her ONE atomweight MMA title against Denice Zamboanga in June 2024 before a torn meniscus scrapped the bout and put Stamp on the bench for the foreseeable future. The rehabilitation path has clearly paid dividends as the only person to win ONE titles under MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing rules.

    Stamp relinquished her MMA strap to keep the division moving while she was recovering and Zamboanga was upgraded to the ONE atomweight champion outright after previously holding the interim crown. Zamboanga will also compete on the same card that mars stamp’s return as Zamboanga aims to defend her atomweight MMA strap against Ayaka Miura at ONE 173.

    Stamp Fairtex and her pedigree in kickboxing

    With Stamp Fairtex once again returning to competing under kickboxing rules, it’s only fitting to look back at her championship body of work within the ONE Circle under that ruleset. Stamp would cement herself as the ONE atomweight kickboxing champion in October 2018 when she bested Kai Ting Chuang on points. Fairtex would win that outing by way of a unanimous decision at ONE Championship: Kingdom of Heroes in Bangkok, Thailand.

    Stamp would then focus on Muay Thai for her next couple of bouts where she bested Janet Todd to claim the crown then defended her atomweight Muay Thai belt against Alma Juniku. Alas, Fairtex would then return to kickboxing only to lose her claim to the ONE Championship atomweight throne when she lost to the aforementioned Janet Todd in February 2020.

  • “[Merab Dvalishvili] Could Fight Jon Jones, He Would Beat Him,” Says Ex-UFC Vet

    “[Merab Dvalishvili] Could Fight Jon Jones, He Would Beat Him,” Says Ex-UFC Vet

    Merab Dvalishvili is not just the bantamweight GOAT of MMA in the eyes of many, but some think he can get the jump on the man many see as the overall MMA GOAT, pound for pound. Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts prior to his recent Rizin flyweight grand prix bid, Jose Torres touched on some of his past training experiences with the Georgian standout. When responding to the talk from some that the UFC bantamweight champion is the greatest bantamweight in MMA history, Torres said,

    “He’s a great fighter, but he’s not super tough on the ground until he becomes tough, if that makes any sense. Like when it comes to technique, that’s where he lacks, but he pushes so much with his heart and just his conditioning that he will break you. Your best bet against Merab, and I guess even against myself and this is me saying this against Merab too, your best bet is to beat him in the first or second round. Because after the second half of the second round, that’s it. There’s no way you’re going to be able to keep up the pace.”

    “Merab is; again, they call him ‘The Machine’, ‘Robocop’, all these different nicknames because his gas tank is relentless. He’s not technically the best fighter, but because of how hard he pushes, especially with that fight style conditioning, that adrenaline that comes on fight day, all that stuff, it’s no match. I think Umar Nurmagomedov easily is the better fighter, but the guy who obviously shows up on fight day in Merab is easily the champion, if that makes any sense.”

    Merab Dvalishvili’s weaponized pace and how he could best Jon Jones

    When getting more into the machinations of the machine that is Merab Dvalishvili, Torres continued,

    “Technically, Sean O’Malley should have been able to win every fight against Merab, but Merab just doesn’t stop. Again, that [Alexandre] Pantoja-style where they’re kind of sloppy, they push forward. But Merab has that gas tank where you’re just like dude, you’re not gonna slow down at all? Like nothing whatsoever? … He’s that guy that just walks forward. He will beat any technical athlete… He could fight Jon Jones, he would beat him in the third or fifth, whatever final round of the fight. Like that’s Merab’s gas tank [laughs].”

  • “Nobody Would Give Much of a F**K” if Jake Paul-Tommy Fury 2 Gets Booked says MFB Insider

    Both Jake Paul and Tommy Fury have mentioned their desires, at different junctures, to eventually have a rematch with one another and one of the broadcasting personalities with Misfits Boxing has offered up his thoughts on the potential prizefight. With a recent appearance on Bowks Talking Bouts, Ben ‘The Bane’ Davis offered up his viewpoint on a litany of topics, including the scope of a possible sequel clash with Fury and Paul.

    The former BKFC and Karate Combat fighter also has some proximity to Fury as Davis was previously being involved in the promotion for the eventually scrapped Tommy Fury vs. Darren Till fight on the Misfits Boxing circuit. When asked if a Jake Paul rematch with Tommy Fury could be a logical next step for both and perhaps a more generally feasible task for ‘The Problem Child’ than some of the prospective opponents that Paul has mentioned previously, Davis stated,

    “Maybe in the context of a competitive sense. I think obviously avenging your losses is always a fun thing to do in combat sports. It shows direct and tangible improvement. But I would say that in the entertainment category, it makes no sense. Tommy Fury has done very, very little in the last couple of years. Maybe one of the only big differences between their first fight and if they did a rematch is how few people would be watching it. Nobody would give much of a f**k, truthfully, if Tommy Fury rematched Jake Paul.”

    “That I think is a product of again, Jake’s insistence on promoting himself as somebody aiming for a world title, wanting legitimacy, wanting WBC-WBO recognition. Well, if you want that, then you should not fight Tommy Fury. If you don’t give a s**t about that, by all means. It’s your life, your decision-making.”

    Jake Paul-Tommy Fury II and the disconnect with the former’s words and actions

    As the Misfits Boxing broadcaster further expounded upon his viewpoint regarding a potential Paul versus Fury continuation of their in-ring story, Davis continued,

    “But I’ve just found myself frustrated at this constant lack of connection between Paul’s actions and his words. Because if you listen to him, you’d probably be thinking, yeah, throw him in there with the best. But then he makes decisions that absolutely, completely contradict what he says on microphones and in press conferences. So I don’t know, maybe with that being said Tommy Fury is the perfect opponent [laughs] because he said he wants something legit. So maybe the opposite would be next.”

  • MFB Insider on Jake Paul vs. Chavez Jr. “One of the Fights of All Time”

    MFB Insider on Jake Paul vs. Chavez Jr. “One of the Fights of All Time”

    Jake Paul recently defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. under Queensberry Rules, and a Misfits Boxing broadcaster has broken down the bout as well as what could be next for the former. Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts, Ben ‘The Bane’ Davis got into the specifics of that June 28th outing between Paul and Chavez Jr. that seemed fairly eclipsed by UFC 317 which transpired that same night.

    As part of his MFB role, he hosted a Misfits Boxing faceoff interview with AnEsonGib as well as Slim circa last November. With Gib previously fighting Jake Paul in the context of offering up his thoughts on Paul’s recent fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Davis said,

    “You know, it was one of the fights of all time, Dylan. I will say this [laughs], I’ve been critical of Jake Paul, and I think that there’s good reason to be because it’s been so cherry-picked in the last five years of his career. There’s asterisks kind of with every single opponent. With Julio, he was at much lighter weight classes in his career. He’s never really been like this strong force. He’s renowned because of the lineage, but I would say boxing purists and pundits know that this was about what we could expect. A version of Chavez that isn’t entirely interested in really wanting to engage and fight.”

    “Which you could say that’s maybe Julio’s nature. You could say that that’s because of Jake Paul shutting him down inside the ring and presenting such offense that if Julio engaged, he would be put on the canvas. I’m not entirely sure, it really is up to you. All I know is that in the last two rounds, Julio Cesar Chavez’s sixty-one strikes, he landed forty of them in those final six minutes, and a lot of them clean. So if I’m team Jake Paul and we’re looking at a ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez or a Badou Jack next, I’m thinking, when the fight gets into the deep waters, we need to learn how to be defensively responsible.”

    Jake Paul and his ceiling in the boxing game according to Davis

    Getting into the somewhat complicated subject of who could be lined up as the next dance partner for Paul, Davis continued,

    “This is where we get into the topic of Jake Paul’s ceiling, I don’t know if he can do that. Dylan, you know this, when you pick up a sport, anything in the combat sports realm, you kind of run into that, ‘that’s it. This is where my technique stops and plateaus.’ I think we’ve seen that with Jake Paul. So I don’t know what really could be next successfully for him, right. I think he can go get knocked out by Canelo, he can go get knocked out by Anthony Joshua, Badou Jack or ‘Zurdo’. But in terms of opponents he can win against in legit world ranking that’s where I find a bit of a dissonance.”

  • Logan Storley: “Give [Thad Jean] That First Loss and Win a World Title” in PFL 2025 Finals

    Logan Storley respects Thad Jean heading into their welterweight tournament title fight inside the PFL Smart Cage on August 1st, but he is focused on getting a measure of redemption against someone who bested one of his teammates. Storley appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and touched on the points-based structure he was a part of last season and contrasted it with the more straight-ahead, defined tournament bracket this year.

    The former Bellator MMA interim champion prefers the win-and-advance bracket style this year and while it has certain hallmarks to his days as an amateur wrestler with the single elimination tournament style, it also feels like this year is easier for PFL fans to understand things better, according to the tournament finalist. On route to said finals, Storley secured a pair of unanimous decision wins over Joseph Luciano as well as Masayuki Kikuiri, and when touching upon that path to the PFL finals, Storley said,

    “They were both big, strong kids, you know. So really just setting the pace on them and dominating the grappling. Getting your ground and pound in there. Making sure there’s no questions about it, you know. Dominate those fights and set a really good pace. I felt like I did that.”

    Speaking to Thad Jean’s path through this year’s tournament, he punched his ticket to the finals to face Storley here by defeating one of Storley’s Kill Cliff FC teammates, Jason Jackson. When touching upon that tendril of this matchup in the coming days, Logan Storley stated,

    “He’s a talented young kid. Good striker, a lot of power, athletic. Does a good job in all positions. Jason and him had an extremely close fight, and Thad obviously got the nod. So you know, I was impressed with the way Thad competed so far this whole season. I’m excited to go out there and represent Kill Cliff and go get this W for our gym. For myself, for my coaches, you know, all those people that support you. But yeah, no, he’s performed great so far.”

    In the pre-fight lead up Jean described Storley as a one-dimensional fighter with a singular wrestling-minded approach. When responding to that characterization some fighters have of him and even some fans have of him that he comes to the cage with a myopic approach to the contest, Logan Storley quipped,

    “Everyone can say whatever they want, right. You look at the best of the best, a lot of them have been wrestlers, right, who go to their game plan. Dominate guys and maul guys and drag them into deep waters. So I’m gonna do what I’m the best at. So you can say it’s one-dimensional, whatever you want, but not very many people have ever been able to stop it.”

    “So I’m going to continue setting a high pace, dragging guys to deep waters, and just competing at the highest level. That’s what I think I do better than anyone is just compete. Ability to make changes mid-fight, ability to push the pace, ability to win scrambles, and the ability to always try to win every single position. So yeah, I think that’s kind of what I do. So I guess if people call it one-dimensional, they can call it one-dimensional [laughs].”

    Logan Storley on the headlines to come and showing his level

    As for what the headlines will read when the dust settles post-August 1st, Logan Storley said,

    “That I’m the best in the world. That nobody can hang with my wrestling. That the pace, smothering, scrambles after scrambles, that’s what I do better than anyone else. So I think that’s what the headlines will read. Just a high, high pace and a smothering pace and just me competing in all positions. Being focused for twenty-five minutes was enough to go out there and really be dominant.”

    When asked if there is an additional degree of satisfaction to handing an unbeaten fighter his first loss, and while that surging fighter has been bantering with you no less, Logan Storley stated,

    “Yeah, I mean, for sure. You always want to go out there and you want to be that guy to give them their first loss and show them that there’s levels and that he’s not quite there yet. So that’s my plan is to go out there and set the bar and give him that first loss and win a world title.”

    https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1949901995747467454/photo/1

  • Reinier de Ridder Was Surprised by the Judges’ Scorecards at UFC Abu Dhabi “completely wrong”

    Reinier de Ridder seemed fairly surprised to hear the announcer read out a dissenting scorecard in the wake of his split decision win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi. The former two-division ONE Championship titleholder continued his spotless run in the UFC so far by defeating a former middleweight champion in Whittaker. After what was arguably the biggest overall win of his mixed martial arts, RDR spoke to on-site media members who had questions for him in the wake of his big victory.

    When asked how confident he was that he had won the bout when the scorecards were being announced, de Ridder said,

    “I thought I was
 I was surprised that one judge scored it like, completely wrong. I thought I had three rounds at least. But yeah, it is what it is. I hoped to finish him and I didn’t, so you never know what the judges make of it. But I’ll be sure to finish the next guy again.”

    Reinier de Ridder vs. Robert Whittaker fighter assessments

    Reinier de Ridder versus Robert Whittaker was a hotly contested bout with many mixed martial artists making cases that either fighter could have got the nod on the scorecards of the assigned judges. A moment in the fight cited by many who see Whittaker as the victor centred on the knockdown that he scored over de Ridder during the back and forth action.

    Several notable fighters like Alan Jouban, former two division two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo, and former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev all saw the fight as tied up two rounds a piece heading into the fifth and final frame of the fight. UFC combatant Saidyokub Kakhramonov felt that Whittaker had done enough to win in his eyes, while former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad gave the nod to RDR.

  • Former Alexandre Pantoja Training Partner Thinks Van Title Shot Talk Shows UFC Desperation

    Former Alexandre Pantoja Training Partner Thinks Van Title Shot Talk Shows UFC Desperation

    It seems like Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van will be the next UFC flyweight championship matchup and a previous training partner of the former has some thoughts on how that potential fight. Jose ‘Shorty’ Torres recently did battle with former RFF grand prix champion Hiromasa Ougikubo as part of Rizin’s flyweight grand prix. Ougikubo had a prior victory over Pantoja and Torres has trained with the UFC flyweight champion. Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts, the former UFC vet covered several subjects related to happenings inside the Rizin ring as well as the octagon.

    When touching on Pantoja’s fight with Kai Kara-France from UFC 317, Torres described a lack of excitement for the matchup based on what he described as ‘a recycling type of process.’ His reasoning behind this was tied to the very season of The Ultimate Fighter where Ougikubo and Pantoja fought whereby so many of the current crop of UFC flyweights have already competed against one another. In terms of fresh matchups in the division, Joshua Van certainly fits that description and he recently defeated prior number one contender Brandon Royval in a barnburner bout that also happened at UFC’s International Fight week PPV where Alexandre Pantoja retained his belt.

    Alexandre Pantoja vs. Joshua Van Overview from Torres

    When touching on some broader weight class considerations with a potential Alexandre Pantoja-Joshua Van in the wake of their respective UFC 317 victories, Torres said,

    “I don’t know if Van technically deserves a title shot even though he beat the number one guy. But that’s how desperate I believe the UFC is to just get new faces and new competition. I mean look at [Kai] Asakura. He didn’t even have a UFC debut but his very first fight in the UFC is against the champion because the UFC has their own agenda of trying to eventually expand to Japan on that side of the world with maybe another PI like they did in China. So it’s a different concept and Pantoja’s a phenomenal fighter.”

    “He’s just not as exciting as the UFC wants him to be. Even though I believe him finishing all these guys is exciting enough, I mean our job is tough. But when you’re on the outside perspective, it might be different… But Pantoja’s a phenomenal athlete. I believe he’ll beat Joshua Van and we’ll see what the UFC tries to do after. But I don’t see anything huge coming any time soon. I think they’ll probably bring in another fighter from a different promotion. Another champion or a highly touted name just to get their debut for the UFC belt.”

  • Bare Knuckle Given Clear “No” by Fighter With Masvidal and Lawler Wins

    Bare Knuckle is seemingly a fairly booming permutation of pugilism with many combatants keen to get involved but an ex-UFC veteran is not looking to drop the gloves himself. Lorenz Larkin has fought for some of the biggest MMA leagues on the planet and has a certain eagerness to try out some other combat sports.

    The former veteran of circuits like UFC, Bellator MMA, and Strikeforce recently made a successful debut in Karate Combat for instance as Larkin secured a decision win over Buddy Wallace at Karate Combat 56 on July 19th. While ‘The Monsoon’ seems intrigued in exploring some independent contractor opportunities as a combat athlete, Larkin does not seem destined for BKFC or BKB at any point in time.

    Lorenz Larkin discussed this during a recent interview with MMA Junkie Radio as Larkin said,

    “Nah, man. 
 If a fighter gets into a fight in the street, it’s gonna be quick. The fight’s gonna be over, done deal, because the other guy doesn’t know anything. They have bare hands, that fighter is probably going to punch him two times, if that, and it’s gonna be over. But, you get two guys having a training camp that are going to go in and fight each other, with bare knuckles? No. I’m good off that.”

    While he is out on bare knuckle, it seems like gloved boxing is enticing as Larkin discussed his hopes to arrange a deal with Misfits Boxing. It also turns out we may see more of Lorenz Larkin in the Karate Combat pit as he spoke highly of the organization structuring a deal with him that allows him to compete in other combat sports.

    Some of Larkin’s past opponents who have fought in Bare Knuckle

    Bare Knuckle and the prevalance of cuts within it seemed to dissuade Larkin but many of his past opponents have given gloveless combat a whirl. Just to name a few examples, Fernando Gonzalez, who Larkin bested at Bellator 193 via unanimous decision, has dropped the gloves a pair of times under the BKFC banner. Gonzalez has a .500 record so far across two outings in 2024 with an attempted booking for January of this year against tenured BKFC combatant Erick Lozano falling out.

    Chris Camozzi lost to Larkin on points in their November 2013 UFC fight and nowadays, Camozzi has ascended to the status of reigning BKFC cruiserweight champion after his first bid for cruiserweight gold against Lorenzo Hutn falling short at BKFC 50. Larkin lost to Derek Brunson at UFC 177 and while the debut hasn’t happened yet, Brunson signed with BKFC and this was announced at the company’s Champions Summitt press event. John Howard was also a past Larkin opponent who tried out bare knuckle, losing his BKFC debut effort in June.

  • Alexandre Pantoja Conqueror Showed “1st Day in Prison” Mentality says Ex-UFC Vet

    Alexandre Pantoja Conqueror Showed “1st Day in Prison” Mentality says Ex-UFC Vet

    Alexandre Pantoja suffered a prior loss to an eventual Rizin grand prix champion and Jose Torres is excited to test skills with that warrior in question when both step into the ring to do battle in Japan. Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts, Jose Torres as he prepares to clash with Hiromasa Ougikubo at Super RIZIN 4 on July 27th as part of the RFF flyweight grand prix. Ougikubo has a deep resume in the sport that includes a win over Alexandre Pantoja on points during their exhibition bout on season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter in August 2016. Alexandre Pantoja is also someone Torres has a training partner history with.

    This is a tough short notice opportunity for Torres who recently made 125 pounds for the first time in close to four years for his last MMA bout at Brave CF 95 in May. The former UFC veteran was not in this grand prix field as recently as three weeks ago, and this short-notice tournament opportunity panned out in part because of the massive fan response online. When Torres mentioned he would not be in the grand prix, the ensuing traction led to it being his most popular post on X which led in part to RFF expanding the tournament field to include more fighters including Torres himself.

    From expecting to fight again in September to preparing himself to compete against a man who ‘Shorty’ himself described as the best prospective opponent in this Rizin flyweight grand prix field, Torres said,

    “I want to take the full opportunity with it and go one hundred percent. Especially with my first opponent being pretty much, more than likely the guy that was touted to win or if not, at least be in the finals. I mean Hiromasa what more could I ask for? This is the test I’ve been wanting.”

    Ougikubo having a win over Alexandre Pantoja and Torres’ overview of the fight

    Referencing a quote that Hiromasa Ougikubo made about how he wants the winner of this tournament to be seen as someone who could beat the UFC champion in the context of Ougikubo having a prior win over current UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, Torres stated,

    “Man, he’s [Ougikubo’s] a phenomenal fighter. Sadly, he is 38. So I think ever being signed or re-signed to the UFC is sadly a missed opportunity for him because he’s such a great fighter with a huge resume. But the fact is, man, just being able to, one, get recognized by a man like him. He did the whole prison thing. Like alright, my first day in prison so I don’t get messed with, I’m going to pick the biggest, baddest guy and beat him up. So everyone else knows not to mess with me.”

    “I was the new guy with a big resume like him that was highly touted. He was like you know what; he had the opportunity to pick me, an empty spot, or someone else and immediately he jumped on the opportunity to fight me because he knows it’s a match for the fans. It’s a match for his legacy, again especially later in his career at 38. It’s a match for him to show how good he really is. I mean, how could I say no to that? Just as a fighter. Again, I love Dragon Ball Z and Goku never denies a challenge. I don’t even think he’s a good character.”

    “He just wants to fight the best in the world. So for me, this is a really fun thing especially as me and Hiromasa are huge Dragon Ball Z fans. So it’s gonna be; I believe one hundred percent that whoever wins this fight, I won’t say will win the tournament because there’s a lot of underdogs in the tournament that are being overlooked and I have my fair share of examples, but I think for sure whoever wins this match will be in the finals.”

  • Former BKFC Fighter on Conor McGregor: “Really Hard to Draw Any Other Conclusions Than What the Jury Did”

    Former BKFC Fighter on Conor McGregor: “Really Hard to Draw Any Other Conclusions Than What the Jury Did”

    Conor McGregor is in ongoing appeal processes after a civil jury found last November that he assaulted Nikita Hand in a reported incident from December 2018 and a former BKFC combatant touched on the situation in a bit of a cursory way. Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts, Ben Davis discussed some of his commentary opportunities in the combat sports world through promotions like Misfits Boxing but Davis has also competed in spaces like the Karate Combat pit and the BKFC’s squared circle.

    Conor McGregor

    ‘The Bane’ did not emerge victorious in his bare knuckle debut but he did get his hand raised by Conor McGregor at BKFC Spain after Davis’ clash with fellow media member Oscar Willis and the photo from that moment is a bit of a conflicting one at this juncture. When touching upon that McGregor photo at BKFC Spain and how some of the Irishman’s surrounding legal controversies that the former two division UFC champion has found himself in (with an ongoing civil sexual assault lawsuit happening in Florida against him from a June 2023 Miami incident) have informed the feelings about that photograph, Davis said,

    “There’s few photos in my camera roll that have aged as poorly as that one [laughs]. Yeah, it’s an unfortunate conflation of combat sports and behaviour like that. He’s embroiled in some really serious, problematic times right now. Listen, if you look at all of the evidence provided, it’s really hard to draw any other conclusions than what the jury did. So I don’t know. I wish that we had more GSPs and Demetrious Johnsons and maybe Robbie Lawlers, right.”

    Conor McGregor, GSP, and the role model quandary of combat sports

    As he expounded upon what he meant by wanting more fighters in the sport like Georges St. Pierre or ‘Mighty Mouse’, Davis stated,

    “Just good ambassadors of the sport, great people that can carry mixed martial arts into the mainstream with more positive lights and not figures that create as much controversy as they do pay-per-view sales. I just think that long term it’s in the best interest of the sport. But again, I’m talking about a sport with probably the stupidest f***** demographic of fans on earth [laughs]. Maybe I’m asking too much, Dylan. Maybe I’m asking too much.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9Y4h0hDPhY

  • Former UFC Heavyweight on Oleksandr Usyk Intel From ‘The Smashing Machine’ Set

    Former UFC Heavyweight on Oleksandr Usyk Intel From ‘The Smashing Machine’ Set

    Oleksandr Usyk is not just the undisputed heavyweight champion in the boxing world for a second time but he is also branching out into the film world through The Smashing Machine and a fellow co-star has offered up some on-set insights with the Ukrainian pugilist. During an interview with MMA Canada, Caio Machado touched on multiple topics ahead of his UAE Warriors debut that saw him finish Kevin Oumar at UAE Warriors 61 on July 23rd.

    Oleksandr Usyk portrays Igor Vovchanchyn in the film while Machado depicts Pete Williams in this cinematic project helmed by The Rock starring titular figure, ‘The Smashing Machine’ Mark Kerr. When the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight fighter was asked if he had any interactions with Usyk while both were filming on-set for this looming effort from Seven Bucks Productions, Machado said,

    “By proxy in a certain way. Myself, I didn’t have any scene with him. Didn’t get the chance to talk to him or even interact in any way. But my coach at the time, Chris Franco, he played Igor Vovchanchyn’s coach in the movie. So he was side by side with Usyk all over the shooting. So he picked his brain, we worked a couple of combos off of his movement, also from a lighter southpaw heavyweight kind of fighter. So it was by proxy, I got able to absorb some things from him but myself, didn’t get the chance.”

    Oleksandr Usyk’s mandatory challenger and a prominent party lacking interest in that bout

    Oleksandr Usyk is on the heels of an emphatic finish over Daniel Dubois in their rematch with Usyk becoming undisputed champ at heavyweight for a second time but he may end up having to possibly forfeit one of the belts considering the current landscape. Joseph Parker is currently the WBO mandatory with the WBO committee putting out a formal press release indicating their desire for negotiations to begin to lock in an Usyk vs. Parker bout.

    Then curiously enough The Ring Magazine put it out there that Riyadh Season Sela has no interest in pursuing Parker versus Usyk next even though it has the most athletic meritocracy of any possible challenger out there right now. Ring Magazine is a media outlet that is now owned by Turki Alalshikh who is the financial driving force for these Riyadh Season fights. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the heavyweight title landscape going forward with all of the outlined machinations that are at play.

  • Big PFL Africa 1 Claims Challenged With Reug Reug and Nassourdine Imavov Event

    Big PFL Africa 1 Claims Challenged With Reug Reug and Nassourdine Imavov Event

    PFL Africa 1 was deemed as a historic event for African MMA with an individual involved in ARES 1 disputing the claims of the Professional Fighters League. The X account @PFLMMA tweeted out a message to their fanbase on the same day as their big foray into the African market which stated,

    “History was made today! The first global MMA event in Africa did not disappoint The night that was #PFLCapeTown 🇿🇩”

    Alan Murphy, who works with Glory Kickboxing and previously did matchmaking as well as marketing for KSW, was involved in the inaugural ARES card and wanted to clarify some things from his vantage point. Retweeting the initial message from the official PFL account, Murphy quipped,

    “Have to challenge this claim. I was part of ARES 1 in Dakar, Senegal in 2019, to a global audience on UFC FIGHT PASS, across France & Africa on Canal, + YouTube. The event featured the debut of Reug Reug, Nassourdine Imavov, Taylor Lapilus, Mairon Santos, Josh Parisian & others.”

    PFL Africa 1, ARES 1, and the big happenings from both cards

    PFL Africa 1 transpired over the weekend from GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa with multiple notable happenings from that July 19th event. Costello Van Steenis secured a breathtaking come from behind submission finish of Johnny Eblen to secure the PFL middleweight crown in the night’s headliner. In the co-main event, Dakota Ditcheva engaged in a comprehensive masterclass striking performance against Sumiko Inaba en route to a unanimous decision win.

    ARES 1 emanated from Esplanade du MusĂ© des Civilisations Noires in Dakar, Senegal on December 14th, 2019 and was an electric offering in it’s own right. Nassourdine Imavov competed that night and would secure a ground and pound stoppage over Jonathan Meunier in the waning seconds of the first frame of that fight.

    Reug Reug AKA Oumar Kane made his professional MMA debut that night and did so against someone with far more mixed martial arts experience in Sofiane Boukichou. In what many have described as one of the most impressive MMA debuts in history with several icnredible slams throught, Reug Reug would secure the TKO victory in the second stanza to go up 1-0 in his pro MMA career.

  • Eddie Alvarez Teammate on Big Possible Next BKFC Philly Bout

    Eddie Alvarez Teammate on Big Possible Next BKFC Philly Bout

    Eddie Alvarez is focusing on honing the skills of the future wave of bare knuckle fighters but a big BKFC Philly fight could be in his future as well. On this edition of Bare Knuckle Bowker, Travis Thompson discussed several topics before he tests skills with Micah Livingston at BKFC Philly on July 25th.

    When touching on who he has been training with as of late and also pontificating on when we might see ‘The Underground King’ throw down in gloveless combat once again, Thompson said,

    “Anthony Pagan. I work out at Eddie Alvarez’s gym with Eddie also. So yeah, I do that on the weekends. So I actually get to get into a bare knuckle ring and use that for my camp which is amazing… Well he’s also working with Anthony Pagan who actually had his pro debut at the last one March 21st at 2300. So he’s been working with him a lot. As far as Eddie getting back in the ring, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see another Wells Fargo fight. That’s where I would assume I would see Eddie because he’s a big ticket seller in Philly. So I think Dave [Feldman] would want him back there at the Wells Fargo.”

    BKFC Philly Successes and Making History with Eddie Alvarez

    To the point of Eddie Alvarez being a big bare knuckle ticket seller in Philadelphia, the former Bellator MMA and UFC lightweight champion helped break an attendance record for indoor fight cards in the Pensylvania city in what was the biggest attendance turnout for a fight card in Philly in over seventy years.

    In September 1952, Rocky Marciano vs. Jersey Joe Walcott I at Municipal Stadium has held the Philly attendance record for a combat sports event with over 40,000 people attending. BKFC KnuckleMania 5, which advertised a headliner of Eddie Alvarez clashing with Jeremy Stephens, generated a BKFC Philly crowd of close to 18,000 ticket buyers at the Wells Fargo Center. In a separate Bare Knuckle Bowker interview, one of BKFC’s commentators was discussing the historical importance of that BKFC Philly card in January as Sean Wheelock stated,

    “I was happy we were able to reward that state and that athletic commission with 17,800 paying customers on the Pennsylvania debut for bare knuckle back in January in Philadelphia. As you said yeah, it was the largest combat sports crowd [in Philadelphia] since Jersey Joe Walcott-Rocky Marciano, 1951
 Which is unbelievable to me. Bigger than the UFCs that have been there, bigger than the Joe Frazier fights, but we did.”

    “It was legitimate, there was not papering of that house, there weren’t comped tickets
 So many celebrities, so many important people in state government, so many people who needed that access to be right in the front row. It was a really incredible night. We’ve had some pretty special, amazing nights in BKFC. But right now through I believe 126 shows, that for me is number one.”

  • UFC 318 Fighter Thinks Big UFC 319 Title Bout Will “Define the Future of” “Middleweight”

    One of the 185 pound competitors from UFC 318 has offered up his thoughts on the middleweight championship bout set to headline UFC 319 in the coming weeks. UFC 319 is headlined by middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis defending his crown against a surging title challenger in Khamzat Chimaev.

    Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev

    Appearing on Bowks Talking Bouts before his UFC 318 assignment took place, Robert Valentin covered several subjects in the pre-fight build to his clash with Ateba Gautier. When giving his thoughts on the machinations of the matchup between DDP and ‘Borz’, Valentin said,

    “So I mean, this is one of the fights that is going to define the future of the middleweight division. I think Khamzat is a guy that could bring many new aspects to the division as being a champion. Just because of his entertainment value and also the way he fights. I mean Dricus du Plessis is obviously a very good athlete, great fighter, and also an honorable champion. But I’m just thinking in terms of value in the entertainment and what the fans want from the sport right now.”

    “If Khamzat is going to win and take the belt, that’s a huge win for the fans as well. Because I think kind of the energy right now in the UFC is the people are demanding new, exciting champions and people that also fight to entertain, not just to win. In terms of that, I really hope that Khamzat is going to take the belt and give the fans an exciting performance and shake up the division again. Having a new champion is obviously always benefitting the whole division.”

    UFC 319 main event analysis cont.

    Robert Valentin continued to break down this key championship bout in his given weight category as Valentin stated,

    “In my opinion, if he becomes champion in the last maybe eight years, he’d be one of the most skilled champions in the middleweight division. Just because of his well rounded MMA game. His wrestling is obviously super dominant.”

    “Just the fact that he f***in broke Rob[ert] Whittaker’s jaw who is undoubtedly one of the most exciting champions in the middleweight division and also a very dominant champion, right. Just how he finished this fight is just incredible. So yeah, I really hope that he’s going to take the belt and bring a lot of new energy to this middleweight division.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HapRvYu44is
  • BKB Champ and BKFC 1 Vet on Big Alberto Blas Departure

    BKB Champ and BKFC 1 Vet on Big Alberto Blas Departure

    Alberto Blas signing with BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing while still the reigning BKFC bantamweight champion sent a ripple effect through the world of gloveless combat with two prolific pugilists in the space offering up their thoughts on the undefeated Cuban combatant defecting to the rival promotion in the space.

    Both of these standout bare-knuckle combatants appeared on separate episodes of Bare Knuckle Bowker and offered up their thoughts on Blas with Harry Gigiliotti and Travis ‘The Animal’ Thompson weighing in on this Blas situation. When the BKB super lightweight Police Gazette Diamond champion was asked about Blas defecting to BKB while he was still the reigning bantamweight champion in BKFC, Gigliotti said,

    “Huge, yeah. Absolutely huge. I mean he was the 135, what, BKFC champ recently. But now he’s coming over here and he’s kind of gonna make his mark here. We’ll see, maybe I’ll go to 135 and try to take a pickin’ at that too at some point. So a lot of people asked me at the end of the fight [at BKB 43] like what do I want to do from here?”

    “I said I could go to welterweight, I could fight Carlos Guerra. Or I could go down to lightweight and I could fight [Julio] Tanori, Jarod Grant or even Alberto Blas. So there’s a lot of interesting things that are happening as the sport kind of grows.”

    BKFC 1 Vet offers up his thoughts on the Alberto Blas situation

    It recently passed the seven-year mark in early June since Thompson’s BKFC 1 fight with eventual BKFC bantamweight champion Reggie Barnett Jr. Thompson has also gone on to fight eventual interim and lineal bantamweight champions throughout BKFC history like Jarod Grant and Dat Nguyen, respectively. When offering up his thoughts on the news of the Alberto Blas departure and the BKFC bantamweight belt now being vacant, Travis Thompson stated,

    “Yeah, I mean it was crazy. I really wanted the chance to fight [Alberto] Blas because no one has alsted a roudn with him. You’re not going to put me out in a round, I don’t give a s**t about who you are. He has nothing I haven’t seen before and honestly I really wanted that fight. But he left and good luck to him. Do what you want to do but I’m BKFC through and through, one hundred percent. I’ll be coming for that title.”

  • Caio Machado “Can Exploit” Kevin Oumar as “More Complete Fighter” at UAE Warriors 61

    Caio Machado “Can Exploit” Kevin Oumar as “More Complete Fighter” at UAE Warriors 61

    Caio Machado is looking to string together consecutive victories since leaving the UFC and aims to shine in his UAE Warriors debut effort. Appearing on MMA Canada, Caio Machado discussed multiple subjects as the former UFC vet is set to clash with Kevin Oumar at UAE Warriors 61 on July 23rd in a light heavyweight contest.

    Since leaving the UFC on a three fight losing skid all on points, the Brazilian-Canadian combatant has been facing difficulties securing fights since his octagon departure. There was also a period where he was part of the Global Fight League draft options until Machado and many involved were left without immediate opportunities after GFL cancelled their pair of cards for the end of May.

    While he has since got back into the win column with a first round finish under the Thunder Fight banner in May, Machado is looking to stay busy for the remainder of the calendar year. Asked about when the preliminary discussions began with UAE Warriors about competing inside of their cage, Machado said,

    “It was actually very quickly, very suddenly here. It’s been a little bit over a month since I got a call from them. I was actually training to fight again here in Brazil on a smaller promotion close to home, Demolidor Fight July 26th. We got the call from UAE Warriors which would be a bigger platform at the UFC Fight Pass with traditional travelling and everything. So we jumped in on that. So I was kind of already training for a fight.”

    “I’m always training but I was already in camp mode. I was already preparing to work on fighting. So it was just a matter of saying yes and jumping to training and weight cutting and everything for that date specific. But yeah, that’s gonna be a great opportunity to fight for UAE Warriors. I heard only great things about the promotion from everyone whose been there before. So I’m excited. I’ve never been to that side of the world. I think it will be very fun.”

    Caio Machado’s assessment of Kevin Oumar pre-UAEW 61

    Caio Machado also offered up his thoughts on Oumar’s skillset and resume, with multiple UAE Warriors bouts and Glory kickboxing experience within that, Machado stated,

    “Kevin [Oumar] is a good fighter. There was not much out there from him. But I was definitely able to get some good footage from a couple of [UAE] Warriors fights. Also he had a Glory kickboxing match as well. From what I see, I felt he got a little bit overwhelmed by his previous opponent that was a southpaw as well. I see his footwork got a little bit upset in that case and I can exploit that, for sure.”

    “He’s a more planted fighter that likes to counter strike off of his opponents. I’m always moving, I’m constantly cutting angles, and my attacks usually come from those angles. So I think I have a big advantage besides the fact that I’m a bigger guy now. I’m not disrespecting him. I’m going into this fight a hundred percent focused and do my job. But I believe I’m the more complete fighter on this occasion.”

  • BKB Champ Calls Out BKFC Champ: “I Believe I’m the Number 1 Ranked in the World”

    A standout champion on the BKB circuit has a desire to fight one of the more dominant titleholders within BKFC someday. Appearing on a recent episode of Bare Knuckle Bowker, Harry Gigliotti touched on multiple topics after his successful defense of his BKB super lightweight Police Gazette title against Kallum Skhane BKB 43: Bolton Brawl on July 5th.

    When a past post of Gigliotti’s was referenced that saw him discuss being the number two ranked fighter in his weight category per BoxRec and telling BKFC champion Kai Stewart to ‘come see’ him down the line, Gigliotti said,

    “I mean sadly we can’t have the fight happen. Actually my promotion was like you can’t really over-promote that because it’s not really doable right now. But down the line, I mean we would like to see the dynamics change where I could fight Kai Stewart or one of the BKFC guys could come over here and fight the BKB guy. In any kind of sport, it needs to get to that point. I mean UFC has kind of the same dynamics where they don’t really allow it. Michael ‘Venom’ Page had to go over there and kind of make his mark when he left Bellator.”

    “But I think at some point, we could come to an agreement where we can make these super fights happen. Kai Stewart is definitely someone on my hit list at some point. Obviously I want to fight him. That’s someone that I really do actually want to test myself against. But right now obviously we can’t do that with the dynamics of just how the promotions are. But I believe I’m the number one ranked in the world.”

    Harry Gigliotti and the P4P hierarchy of champions in BKB

    Further expounding upon his thoughts related to the pound for pound rankings landscape within BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, Gigliotti continued,

    “I mean think I’m one of the pound for pound greatest. They had me at number nine for BKB. I think I only get better and better. At this point I’m probably top three I’d say. I’m obviously not taking it from ‘Cuban Assassin’ [Gustavo Trujillo] and LT ‘Smash’ Nelson. I know that those two guys have made their names in the sport. Barrie Jones, there’s a lot of pound for pound guys that are great. So I don’t want to ever take that from them. But I do look at myself as a top three pound for pound, at this point.”

  • BKB Champ on Paulie Malignaggi BKB 45 Return: “He’s Looking to Grab a Bare Knuckle World Title”

    Paulie Malignaggi will be returning to the world of gloveless combat after several years out of the bare knuckle game and one of the sport’s top fighters pound for pound today has weighed in on this. During a recent chat on Bare Knuckle Bowker, Harry Gigliotti touched on several subjects in the aftermath of defending his BKB super lightweight Police Gazette title against Kallum Skhane BKB 43: Bolton Brawl on July 5th.

    Also through the pugilistic proceedings of that recent BKB event, Paulie Malignaggi has expressly mapped out a return to bare knuckle boxing to face Tyler Goodjohn for his second bare knuckle bout overall and Malignaggi’s first foray into the BKB Mighty Trigon. Malignaggi had previously fallen short on points to Artem Lobov at BKFC 6 in a key fight that ignited a lot of North American interest in bare knuckle when the two battled in June 2019.

    In regards to the announcement of ‘Magic Man’ returning to the ring at BKB 45 on September 6th to fight Goodjohn, Gigliotti said,

    “He’s a legend in the game, you know what I mean? So it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool to see Paulie Malignaggi back in the ring in general but let alone in my world of bare-knuckle and stuff like that. Paulie is someone that I’ve looked up to and I knew in the game. I actually had fights out here in this area over at the Hampton Beach Casino where I’m thirty five minutes of a drive from. So it’s like Paulie’s keeping the sport alive. Well not alive, but growing it out, you know what I mean, and building it up.”

    Paulie Malignaggi’s bare knuckle return touched on by BKB champion

    As he kept expounding upon his thoughts in this context, Gigliotti continued, “So it’s one of those things that you get a big name like that in the game and more eyes start to look. More people want to tune in and stuff like that. So I appreciate Paulie for coming back and doing this for the fighters and stuff. Obviously he wants to get a world title he said. I don’t know if you’ve heard some of his interviews but he’s looking to grab a bare knuckle world title which in that weight class that would be I believe Liam’ Rocky’ Rees. That would be a fight down the line to make.”

  • Turki Alalshikh Will Only Stay In Boxing Until He Gets Bored – Says World Champion Boxer

    Turki Alalshikh Will Only Stay In Boxing Until He Gets Bored – Says World Champion Boxer

    Turki Alalshikh will only be involved in the boxing industry for an inherently finite amount of time according to a decorated champion within the sweet science. In an interview with midnite.com, George Groves touched on several subjects of intrigue across the Queensbery Rules landscape. When speaking at a Midnite Q&A event regarding Alalshikh’s prevelance in boxing today and the history of prizefighters chasing massive prizes, Groves said,

    “Everyone’s desperate to be part of Riyadh Season, desperate to be friends with Turki Alalshikh because he’s got so much money. But at some point he’s going to get bored of running at a loss so maybe that’s why Dana White’s on his way in.

    “Every now and again you get a gift in boxing and you get overpaid. DAZN came in ‘We’ve got a billion dollars’. Great, a quarter of that is going to Canelo. Who else are you going to sign? You sign two more fighters and they’re going to want the same as Canelo and you’ve got no money left.

    “Before them it was PBC who came in with massive investment. MTK was throwing money around. This stuff doesn’t last forever.

    “Tyson Fury does a deal with ESPN and he’s allegedly getting ÂŁ80 million over three years or five fights. The first few fights are just the gifts, the puddings, and then you’ve got to fight Wilder – it can be hard.

    “It’s like ‘I’m getting the same money to fight this donut and to fight this fella who might take my head off.”

    Turki Alalshikh and Dana White not a good fit for boxing, per Groves

    Turki Alalshikh and Dana White, with specific focus on the latter, seems like a force that will do more harm than good for the boxing industry according to George Groves. The former WBA titleholder expounded upon this thought process at the same Midnite Q&A event as Groves stated [via MMA Knockout on SI],

    “I always look at boxing from the boxer’s point of view and not the fan’s point of view. To get the very best fights you have to build fighters properly to get them being at their very best.”

    “So all these ‘Records don’t matter, put them in early,’ you ruin fighters by putting them in early in too tougher tests or 50/50 fights. Someone’s going to suffer.”

    “The money that the UFC fighters are paid compared to boxers is incomparable – it’s peanut. That’s why anyone that gets a big enough name in the UFC transitions over to boxing like Conor McGregor or what not.”

    “I wouldn’t say he is good for boxing, but that’s from a boxer’s point of view and not a fan’s point of view. But I don’t think he’ll be able to complete boxing, I don’t think anyone can.”

  • BKFC Stalwart Watched Big UFC 317 Headliner Over Paul-Chavez Jr. “I’m Not a Fan of the Paul Brothers”

    The headliner for UFC 317 was the more compelling contest to watch compared to Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., which took place on the same night, in the eyes of one of BKFC’s more tenured fighters. Appearing on Bare Knuckle Bowker, Erick Lozano touched on multiple topics heading into his clash with bare-knuckle boxing debutant Alessio Sakara at BKFC Philly on July 25th.

    Among his lengthy run with the promotion, the established veteran of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship had a hugely exciting fight with Jake Bostwick that saw Lozano generate an incredible, gritty performance in the BKFC 45 co-main event clash in June 2023. Bostwick had previously got into a heated sparring session with Jake Paul before Paul’s Ben Askren fight in April 2021 with the Bostwick-Paul sparring work getting some media attention at the time.

    In that context, when asked for his thoughts on the recent Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. boxing bout that took place at the end of June, Erick Lozano said,

    “I didn’t get a chance to catch it [Paul vs. Chavez Jr.] but I heard about it. They said that pretty much Chavez [Jr.] didn’t go out there and perform to his ability. I was more watching the; what was it? [Charles] Oliveira vs. [Ilia] Topuria in the main event for the UFC [UFC 317] rather than watching the Chavez [Jr.]-Paul fight. I’m not a fan of the Paul brothers, so.”

    BKFC combatant heaps massive praise on Ilia Topuria

    When asked a follow up question on the BKB podcast regarding what he enjoyed from the UFC’s International Fight Week offering, Erick Lozano stated,

    “I just got to watch the main event. That’s the one I wanted to watch. I knew; I called [Ilia] Topuria finishing him in the first round. I think he’s a well rounded fighter. Right now, I think he’s the number one pound for pound fighter in the world. Right now if I had to line them up, he’d be my number one fighter.”