Ex-Invicta FC and UFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez has her bare-knuckle boxing debut set.
Gonzalez (10-5 MMA) will have her promotional coming out party at BKFC 18 on June 26. There, she’ll take on Charisa Sigala (4-2 MMA, 0-1 BKB). BKFC officials announced the bout on social media on Tuesday.
OFFICIAL: @BKFCsweetheart Takes on @PearlGonzalez at #BKFC18 🔥🔥🔥
[ Tix & How to Watch in Bio 🎫 📺 ] pic.twitter.com/EBgMquMOcE
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) June 1, 2021
A fan favorite, Gonzalez didn’t last long in her UFC run, losing back-to-back fights inside the octagon in 2017. That said, those losses came early on in her MMA career, and led to a three-fight win streak in Invicta. In turn, that took Pearl to a title shot, though she came up short against then-flyweight champion Vanessa Porto. Since the title fight, Gonzalez has posted a 1-1 record in mixed martial arts.
Sigala started her own MMA career going 4-0 under the Gladiator Challenge banner. However, after jumping to Combate Americas (now known as Combate Global), she dropped her next two bouts. That led her to BKFC, where Sigala lost Taylor Jenkins by decision at KnuckleMania back in February.
BKFC 18, which takes place June 26 in Miami, Florida, will also see UFC vet Thiago Alves take on Uly Diaz for the inaugural BKFC middleweight title. The lightweight title will also be up for grabs when Luis Palomino faces off with Tyler Goodjohn. Not stopping there, two more titles are on the line: Hector Lombard will face Joe Riggs for the cruiserweight belt, and the heavyweight strap will be defended by Joey Beltran against Sam Shewmaker.
On the Pearl Gonzalez front, a win for Pearl could put her in line for the winner of Paige VanZant vs. Rachael Ostovich at BKFC 19.
