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Can't believe I missed this shit! Looks terrifying. lol
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Roughly 2,000 people packed the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center here on Saturday night, lured by the promise of a violent spectacle unlike any since the late 19th century. What they got was three hours of bloody entertainment, with only a few lulls in the action.
The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promotion billed this event as “the beginning,” and that’s exactly what BKFC President David Feldman felt like he witnessed.
“I really feel like this is the start of something,” Feldman told MMAjunkie. “I really do.”
With a 10-bout card on pay-per-view, the promotion reeled off one fight after another with a set of rules that seemed caught between multiple eras and sports.
As one promoter tries to resurrect bare-knuckle boxing, its history has a lot to teach us about the fight game
How do you prepare for a bare-knuckle fight? It's tougher than you might think
No kicks, elbows, or knee strikes were allowed, much like in boxing. But a high degree of clinch fighting was tolerated, much like in MMA. Fighters began each round by “toeing the line” in the center of the circular ring, not unlike old-time bare-knuckle bouts under London Prize Ring Rules. But rounds lasted only two minutes, ostensibly to encourage a faster pace.
Oh, and one other thing: no gloves of any kind, just a hand wrap that stops an inch or so below the knuckles.
It made for a different type of combat sports display, and one that got bloody early and often.
In the first bout of the evening, a battered and bloody D.J. Linderman was stopped on a doctor’s advice following the second round of his fight against the victorious Arnold Adams.
Later on in the evening, former UFC fighter Bec Rawlings smashed the nose and quite possibly the hands of Alma Garcia, who was also stopped by the doctor following the second.
The messiest bout was the co-main event, which saw Joey Beltranand Tony Lopez hammer each other for the full five rounds, until both men were covered in blood and seemingly so exhausted they could barely stand. Beltran got the unanimous nod from the judges, along with a large hematoma on his cheek and two rows of stitches in his forehead, courtesy of Lopez.
Some bouts ended so quickly that the blood hardly had a chance to flow. In heavyweight action, Sam Shewmaker felled former Bellator fighter Eric Prindle with a single right hand, ending the fight via knockout in just 18 seconds.
https://mmajunkie.com/2018/06/video...g-championship-biggest-knockout-sam-shewmaker
https://mmajunkie.com/2018/06/video...g-championship-biggest-knockout-sam-shewmaker
Famed bare-knuckle fighter Bobby Gunn also made short work of Irineu Beato Costa Jr., dropping him with a body shot in the opening seconds, then putting him away with a thumping punch to the head at the 41-second mark of the first round.
Kickboxer Maurice Jackson had a similarly easy time of it against Dale Sopi, who he finished off in just 70 seconds, while Estevan Payan put Omar Avelar away at the 1:57 mark of the first.
Perhaps the most lackluster fight of the night was the main event, which saw former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez put forth a somewhat sluggish effort against Lewis Rumsey. Rodriguez would go on to win the unanimous decision, but his was the only fight of the night to draw significant boos from the Wyoming crowd.
Still, Feldman was optimistic about the future by the time the crowd filtered out of the arena and the blood had all been mopped up.
“It felt like a good night, and everybody fought their asses off,” Feldman said.
As for whether it was a big enough success to create momentum that could carry over into another event, tentatively planned for September, a lot may depend on just how many people were convinced to fork over the $29.95 to watch on pay-per-view.
Official Bare Knuckle FC 1 results include:
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Roughly 2,000 people packed the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center here on Saturday night, lured by the promise of a violent spectacle unlike any since the late 19th century. What they got was three hours of bloody entertainment, with only a few lulls in the action.
The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promotion billed this event as “the beginning,” and that’s exactly what BKFC President David Feldman felt like he witnessed.
“I really feel like this is the start of something,” Feldman told MMAjunkie. “I really do.”
With a 10-bout card on pay-per-view, the promotion reeled off one fight after another with a set of rules that seemed caught between multiple eras and sports.
As one promoter tries to resurrect bare-knuckle boxing, its history has a lot to teach us about the fight game
How do you prepare for a bare-knuckle fight? It's tougher than you might think
No kicks, elbows, or knee strikes were allowed, much like in boxing. But a high degree of clinch fighting was tolerated, much like in MMA. Fighters began each round by “toeing the line” in the center of the circular ring, not unlike old-time bare-knuckle bouts under London Prize Ring Rules. But rounds lasted only two minutes, ostensibly to encourage a faster pace.
Oh, and one other thing: no gloves of any kind, just a hand wrap that stops an inch or so below the knuckles.
It made for a different type of combat sports display, and one that got bloody early and often.
In the first bout of the evening, a battered and bloody D.J. Linderman was stopped on a doctor’s advice following the second round of his fight against the victorious Arnold Adams.
Later on in the evening, former UFC fighter Bec Rawlings smashed the nose and quite possibly the hands of Alma Garcia, who was also stopped by the doctor following the second.
The messiest bout was the co-main event, which saw Joey Beltranand Tony Lopez hammer each other for the full five rounds, until both men were covered in blood and seemingly so exhausted they could barely stand. Beltran got the unanimous nod from the judges, along with a large hematoma on his cheek and two rows of stitches in his forehead, courtesy of Lopez.
Some bouts ended so quickly that the blood hardly had a chance to flow. In heavyweight action, Sam Shewmaker felled former Bellator fighter Eric Prindle with a single right hand, ending the fight via knockout in just 18 seconds.
https://mmajunkie.com/2018/06/video...g-championship-biggest-knockout-sam-shewmaker
https://mmajunkie.com/2018/06/video...g-championship-biggest-knockout-sam-shewmaker
Famed bare-knuckle fighter Bobby Gunn also made short work of Irineu Beato Costa Jr., dropping him with a body shot in the opening seconds, then putting him away with a thumping punch to the head at the 41-second mark of the first round.
Kickboxer Maurice Jackson had a similarly easy time of it against Dale Sopi, who he finished off in just 70 seconds, while Estevan Payan put Omar Avelar away at the 1:57 mark of the first.
Perhaps the most lackluster fight of the night was the main event, which saw former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez put forth a somewhat sluggish effort against Lewis Rumsey. Rodriguez would go on to win the unanimous decision, but his was the only fight of the night to draw significant boos from the Wyoming crowd.
Still, Feldman was optimistic about the future by the time the crowd filtered out of the arena and the blood had all been mopped up.
“It felt like a good night, and everybody fought their asses off,” Feldman said.
As for whether it was a big enough success to create momentum that could carry over into another event, tentatively planned for September, a lot may depend on just how many people were convinced to fork over the $29.95 to watch on pay-per-view.
Official Bare Knuckle FC 1 results include:
- Ricco Rodriguez def. Lewis Rumsey via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 48-47)
- Joey Beltran def. Tony Lopez via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-46)
- Bec Rawlings def. Alma Garcia via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 2:00
- Sam Shewmaker def. Eric Prindle via knockout – Round 1, 0:18
- Bobby Gunn def. Irineu Beato Costa Jr. via knockout – Round 1, 0:41
- Johnny Bedford def. Nick Mamalis via TKO – Round 2, 1:41
- Reggie Barnett def. Travis Thompson via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
- Maurice Jackson def. Dale Sopi via TKO – Round 1, 1:10
- Estevan Payan def. Omar Avelar via knockout – Round 1, 1:57
- Arnold Adams def. D.J. Linderman via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 2:00
