Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship embarks on their first foray into Alabama with BKFC 17 next month. The recently announced card goes down in Birmingham on Friday, April 30, 2021 from the Boutwell Auditorium. The broadcast goes live on the BKTV App as well as via FITE TV at 9PM EST.
On the heels of an eventful BKFC 16, the promotion will be looking to maintain its traction. News of the promotion’s latest card was released via press release on Tuesday.
Topping the marquee for BKFC 17 is an explosive heavyweight collision involving Dillon Cleckler (2-0 in BKFC, 2 KO’s). He is toeing the line against Josh Burns (1-0 in BKFC, 1 KO). In the co-feature, the Quarter-Finals of the BKFC 175lb Tournament go down with Marcel Stamps (2-1). He knuckles up with bare-knuckle debutant Mike Richman.
“We’re very excited to promote our first event in Birmingham, AL,” said BKFC President David Feldman in Tuesday’s press release. “Heavyweight is an incredibly deep division for BKFC and the Dillon Cleckler vs. Josh Burns fight is one of the very best that can be made featuring two of the top stars in bare-knuckle.”
“Also, former Crimson Tide Linebacker Marcel Stamps comes back down from the heavyweight division to enter our 175lb Division Quarter-Final Tournament against Mike Richman in a sure-fire classic bare-knuckle fight between two world-class athletes.”
🗓️Your upcoming @bareknucklefc schedule#ToeTheLine3 April 24#BKFC17 April 30#BKFC18 May 21
See it all on #FITE! pic.twitter.com/lAXKtTZ22C
— FITE (@FiteTV) March 20, 2021
Dillon Cleckler has fast established himself since debuting in BKFC last summer. Cleckler knocked out Frank Tate at BKFC 11. He followed that up with a vicious KO win over Chris Jensen in the first round of their KnuckleMania bout.
Cleckler’s opponent, the Brick-fisted Josh Burns, made a memorable entry into BKFC with a thunderous second-round knockout over Chris Sarro at BKFC 15 last December. He previously competed in MMA with Bellator, among other promotions.
Co-headliner Marcel Stamps (1-1 in BKFC) returns to light heavyweight division following a spirited effort against BKFC and Police Gazette heavyweight world champion Joey Beltran at BKFC 13 last October. He’s set to lay out the welcome mat for his opponent in this latest out. With high-level MMA experience and a 2-0 record as a pro boxer, Mike Richman will be making his BKFC debut. He throws down under Broughton’s Rules against hometown favorite Stamps in the first round of this BKFC Light Heavyweight Tournament.
