Bare Knuckle FC had the biggest promotional debut in its history go down Friday at BKFC: Knucklemania. After parting ways with the UFC and signing with the bare knuckle boxing outfit last year, Paige VanZant finally arrived.
VanZant had long been the darling of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. But after a number of setbacks including a nagging broken arm, and squabbles over pay (VanZant famously revealed that she made more as an Instagram model than as a UFC fighter), the MMA star jumped ship for a new promotion — and a new sport.
After a number of delays due to COVID-19, her arrival finally came at Knucklemania on Superbowl weekend, with VanZant taking on Britain Hart. The pair had nearly come to blows at Thursday’s ceremonial weigh-in, making Friday night’s main event that much more noteworthy. Also on Friday’s card, what was widely expected to be the retirement fight for former UFC star Chris Leben.
BKFC: Knucklemania takes place at Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson in Clearwater, Fl and airs exclusively on Pay-Per-View. The main card is available via Fite.tv. The preliminary card, streaming live and free, can be found below. The prelims kick off at 8PM ET.
BKFC: Knucklemania Results
Main Card
Britain Hart def. Paige VanZant by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Dat Nguyen def. Johnny Bedford by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) — 135lb title fight
Chris Leben def. Quentin Henry by knockout, Round 1, 1:07
Martin Brown def. Zach Zane by TKO, Round 2, 1:28
Lorenzo Hunt def. Rob Morrow by knockout, Round 4, 2:00
John Chalbeck def. Greg Bono by knockout, Round 3, 0:28
Haim Gozali def. John McCallister by knockout, Round 2, 1:08
Dillon Cleckler def. Chris Jensen by knockout, Round 1, 0:24
Taylor Starling def. Charisa Sigala by unanimous decision (50-43, 50-43, 49-44)
Preliminary Card
Travis Thompson def. Dave Morgan by TKO, Round 2, 0:22
Jarod Grant def. Brandon Lambert by knockout, Round 3, 1:11
Jeff Bailey vs. Drew Lipton
