After going undefeated in her Bare Knuckle FC run, former UFC fighter Bec Rawlings is headed to Bellator MMA.
After a successful stopover in Bare Knuckle FC, Bec Rawlings is headed back to the cage. On Tuesday, ESPN was first to report that Rawlings, a former UFC fighter and Ultimate Fighter alum, had signed on with Bellator MMA. It appears as well that Rawlings, who picked up the moniker “Queen of Bare Knuckle” while appearing in BKFC, has put her bare knuckle boxing career on hold.
Rawlings (7-8) went 3-0 in her bare knuckle career, defeating Alma Garcia to win the Police Gazette Bare-Knuckle Championship at flyweight. She defended the title twice, against Britain Hart and Cecilia Flores. Despite being one of the biggest attractions in the fledgling promotion, however, it seems Rawlings has found a better deal with Scott Coker’s Bellator MMA.
Hopefully, the Bellator cage will be kinder to Rawlings than the octagon. The Australian, who turned 30 in February, finished out her UFC stint on an 0-4 run. She struggled with making the 115lb strawweight limit, but with her final two fights coming at flyweight, was unable to find success there either. Rawlings did pick up wins over Lisa Ellis and Seo Hee Ham under the UFC banner, but has not won in MMA since 2016.
In a statement given to MMA Fighting, David Feldman, BKFC President, said that “Bec was a great addition to BKFC, we wish her the best in competing in MMA again.”
Bellator MMA beat the UFC in launching the 125lb division for women, and have made a star out of champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. However, competition at the top has been thin, especially with the Hawaiian champ having already defeated her biggest foe in Valerie Letourneau. While Rawlings needs some wins in MMA, her Bare Knuckle career seems to have rejuvenated her, and the former Invicta FC fighter still has some name value to add to the division.
