The former multi-time title challenger in UFC and Bellator MMA will enter the world of gloveless combat but he was not the only former UFC title challenger that the bare-knuckle fighting organization has enlisted the services of. Thiago Santos was also announced as a new signee at the massive press event leading into the promotion’s BKFC 78 effort in Hollywood, Florida this weekend. Romero and Santos have a bit of a history with one another as the former defeated the latter at the PFL vs. Bellator card by way of a unanimous decision.

The 48-year-old has recently been active on the Dirty Boxing Championship circuit with Romero picking up victories over Duane Crespo and Ras Hylton under the DBX banner.

BKFC also signs an additional pair of UFC veterans

Also at this massive media event that featured a variety of assembled world, European, and UK champions, another pair of UFC fighters were announced as new signees for bare knuckle.

Aspen Ladd will be knuckling up and toeing the line after taking a handful of fights on the Bellator MMA and PFL circuits after her 2022 departure from the UFC. Ladd has tested skills against several former UFC and Bellator champions across multiple weight categories including Kayla Harrison, Julia Budd, Raquel Pennington, and Germaine de Randamie.

Also, former stalwart UFC middleweight Derek Brunson will be stepping into the world of bare-knuckle. Brunson had a lone fight in the PFL smart cage after his UFC tenure ended in 2023 which was a run that saw him fight names like Dricus du Plessis, Darren Till, Israel Adesanya, Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva, and Robert Whittaker to name a few.

All of the aforementioned signees not having debut opponents locked in, as expressed by the organization at the BKFC Champions Summit press conference.

The post BKFC Signs Yoel Romero, Former Jon Jones Foe, and 2 More UFC Vets appeared first on Cageside Press.

This space showcased a groundbreaking group of renegade pro wrestlers through the 90’s and early 2000’s. The visceral fervor that permeated through the ECW arena years ago pulsated through the arena once again. Fans flocked to the corner of Swanson and Ritner to take in a great night of bare-knuckle boxing in Philadelphia.

BKFC Philly Headliner

Dustin Pague and Andrew Angelcor battled it out in the headliner of the night. Pague was previously a ranked welterweight in the promotion. For Angelcor, he usually fights at lightweight but was moving up for a challenge. Pague showcased good movement throughout as he actively switched stances. This while being offensively effective and defensively responsible at the same time.

While Angelcor seemed to be briefly rocked in the second stanza, the Barstow native began to find more success with his right hook over the top of the guard. Alas, Pague’s connectivity rate was demonstrably there in the form of a gaping cut on the forehead that caused the ringside doctor to wave off the bout for a second-round TKO victory in favor of Pague.

Cory Vidal vs. Brandon Conley was the co-main event bout with both men engaging in individual hard charges at the beginning of the contest. The two light heavyweights were game with Vidal seemingly aiming to crowd more and work at a tighter range while Conley seemed to prefer working at a greater distance.

Conley was deducted a point for an errant eye poke in the third round which ended up playing a big role in the bout’s verdict. The next two rounds saw both have their moments which lead to a majority draw verdict in the end.

Crowd Favorite

John Garbarino came in as one of the bigger crowd favorites of the night and showed out against Rayne Wells in the night’s feature fight. The composure and measured approach of Garbarino early on showcased a certain poise before dropping Wells under a flurry of lefts and rights which notched him a first-round knockout in forty-seven seconds.

Travis Thompson vs. AJ Craig was a clash between an OG in Thompson who has been with the promotion since BKFC 1 and Craig who was aiming to notch a statement win in bare knuckle boxing. Thompson aimed to crowd Craig early and work in body shots from the clinch whilst on the ropes. Conversely, for Craig, he used a lot of lateral movement and counter-punching as he collected a first-round knockdown.

Craig was largely counterpunching at will with his footwork behooving him through the contest until a bloodied, bruised, but unbroken Thompson dropped Craig to the canvas in the final stanza. In the end, it wasn’t quite enough to notch a decision win as Craig would earn victory via unanimous decision.

Maurice Horne and Adam De Freitas was a bit clouded by some controversy toward the end. Both were active with the lead right hands in this rare southpaw versus southpaw battle. De Freitas sustained a slight forehead cut in the opening round. The Canadian combatant would drop Horne to the canvas in the first round. The two then had a back-and-forth flurry to end off the round.

Horne would then notch his own knockdown in the second stanza with De Freitas stumbling a bit after initially getting up causing the ref to wave it off. Even though Horne was the local fighter, there were many in the crowd who felt that the stoppage at the 1:08 mark was a bit on the premature side of things.

Ludlow vs. McKenna

Lex Ludlow vs. Connor McKenna was a heavyweight contest that saw the latter often try to goad the former into a firefight and overextend. Ludlow stayed measured and calculated with some of the bombs he was landing cutting up McKenna in the second frame. Ludlow kept finding a home for the jab followed by a power right overtop of the guard and mixed in body shots well to keep McKenna guessing.

Fatigue set in and while McKenna was more active in the later stages, Ludlow would get his hand raised in the end. The heavyweight BKFC debutant then used his post-fight interview to call out the legendary Fedor Emelianenko who Conor McGregor previously teased interest in adding to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship roster someday.

Historic BKFC finishes

Dalvin Blair versus Justin Walters was a blink-and-you-missed-it type of affair. Walters charged forward right off of scratch only to be finished right away. Blair secured a KO at the four-second mark which is now the third-fastest knockout in the history of BKFC.

Elijah Harris vs. Brandon Honsvick was another bare-knuckle boxing bout that ended in lightning-quick fashion. Honsvick was stiffened after a massive flurry of punches saw him crash to the canvas in a fencing position. Harris secured the fourth-fastest knockout in BKFC history at the seven-second mark.

BKFC Fight Night Philly

Pat Carroll versus Mike Furnier saw the former drop the latter with big rights early. Carroll kept the pressure on as a flurry of lefts and rights again put down Furnier. Mike Furnier was grimacing while holding the side of his head and was unable to beat the count. A noticeable hematoma emerged in the spot Furnier was favoring. Carroll made good on his BKFC debut with a forty-six-second KO win over the three-fight BKFC competitor, Furnier.

Also, Anthony Pagan, who was cornered by combat sports legend Eddie Alvarez, made a statement against Colin Reeser. Pagan dropped Reeser on three separate occasions and cut him up in the process. The opening bout of the evening was waved off fifty-two seconds in.

The post Historic KO’s Punctuate BKFC Philly at the Old ECW Arena appeared first on Cageside Press.

This fight is actually a re-booking with the initial June attempt falling out just hours before it was set to go down. The core issue in the situation is theorized to be food poisoning. Arnett lost around ten to twelve pounds of water during this episode per his account. He was rendered unable to even get off the floor earlier this Summer.

His team ultimately saw it in his best interest to call the bout off. Arnett, who has in the past fought with herniated discs and a blown back, begrudgingly accepted his circumstances. But the rescheduling turnaround was thankfully promptly sorted.

Jesse Arnett

Despite being a former TKO champion and the prolific Canadian MMA promotion running frequently at La Tohu, this will be Arnett’s first time competing in the revered venue. The venue also ties into this fight with Dupras as ‘Big Cat’ highlighted in this interview how his opponent was knocked out at La Tohu to a degree where there issues waking him up after.

Arnett explained how you never forget that kind of thing and the anecdotal experiences with the venue could weigh heavily on the mind and spirit of Dupras heading into this headlining title fight.

Many are seeing this as a prospect versus veteran matchup with excitement attached to capturing another belt but there is also excitement in beating someone in Dupras that the UFC seems to have their eyes on.

Considering Arnett was locked out of a UFC jump, per his account, because of Stephane Patry and TKO’s contractual dynamics with him, this would be a satisfying win even though Arnett realizes that based on his age he may not exactly be on the UFC’s radar in the same way Dupras is.

Jesse Arnett vs Frederik Dupras

Arnett stated that this is the first world beater Dupras has ever fought having competed with names like Ray Borg, Johnny Bedford, Josh Hill, as well as Darrick Minner to name a few. He has also captured gold in multiple divisions including the UAE Warriors featherweight belt and the TKO bantamweight belt to name a couple of his championship accolades.

This will be the Canadian combatant’s first new opponent in a couple of years after his championship trilogy in UAEW versus Ali AlQaisi.

Examining his opponent’s resume, Dupras has many guillotine choke-based finishes. He actually has seven first-round submission finishes by way of a choke across his seven pro-MMA wins.

In discussing the machinations of this matchup, Jesse Arnett suggested,

“If he can take me out, which won’t happen, he [doesn’t] need to go to Contender Series. He can go directly to the UFC. However, I’m more well-rounded. The only way he can choke me out is if I’m desperately shooting on him or if I’m scrambling up. I got some good Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guys. I’ve been doing Jiu-Jitsu now [for] a decade.”

“He’s not going to just come in there and choke me. We’re gonna see how he does when we get him out of the first round. He’s never been out of the first round, never mind past three minutes. So it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be fun the first three minutes, the first round. See how he reacts and I’m just going to see what he does and go from there.”

Samourai MMA 11

Arnett continued, “I can win the fight decision, I can win the fight submission, I can win the fight knockout. I think his only path to victory is a submission over me, I believe.”

While the great wrestling and BJJ are clear, Arnett has honed his standup at Bowmont Boxing as well as Muay Thai work with Kieran Keddle and ONE Championship combatant Jake Peacock over the years. He is now in Northern Ontario honing his skills these days at spaces like Steel City MMA and Leading Edge.

In terms of a prediction for how this contest will play out, Jesse Arnett stated,

“I think I get him out of there inside two rounds, to be honest. He’s going to be a little hard at the beginning because he’s so wild. But once I let him do his thing and blow himself out, I feel I’ll take the fight over and I feel the finish will be there.”

The post Jesse Arnett Calls Frederik Dupras Finish “Inside 2 Rounds” at Samourai MMA 11 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Sigala will be returning after over a year on the sidelines. This following a gruesome leg injury suffered at KnuckleMania III. While she was fully healed in August of last year and stayed busy with academics, it was just a matter of working out when Sigala could return to the BKFC ring.

Sigala will enter the ring for her seventh bare-knuckle boxing bout and will be continuing to make history. Charisa Sigala was previously part of BKFC’s inaugural strawweight title fight and in this looming bout will take part in the first-ever women’s bare knuckle boxing bout in Japan. She already had her passport from a targeted Paige VanZant fight in London years ago and is getting to put it to use for this outing in the land of the rising sun.

Charisa Sigala

The pair of PVZ bout cancellations are still something Sigala does not have a lot of insights into. She had to change her weight for the VanZant contract and it would have been the heaviest Sigala ever fought at. It would have been to the scale of not having to drop weight at all and just train. Sigala stated how she felt she was so much of a threat to VanZant that she had to turn to Power Slap to actually get a win.

She questioned PVZ’s grit to return to BKFC and felt VanZant didn’t do well in gloved boxing against Elle Brooke. Sigala briefly mentioned the former UFC combatant doing well in Power Slap. But also felt she should have been disqualified for her head turning and Sigala intimated that she wasn’t because she’s “Dana’s baby.” Charisa Sigala said she’s right here waiting if VanZant ever comes back to knuckle up and toe the line if the BKFC bout offer versus PVZ ever materializes again.

Super RIZIN 3

Charisa Sigala vs Tai Emery

Getting to share a spot on a card with Manny Pacquiao appears to be something special for Sigala, who has an aunt who married into the family that is Filipino that screamed at the TV over Pac Man during the Christmas holidays. Sigala was a little girl when she saw her aunt’s fervor as he fought arch-rival Marquez.

Gloved boxing, bare-knuckle, and MMA are all featured at Super RIZIN 3. Sigala went to the recent BKFC Pechanga card with her son as it’s close to where she resides and was greeted with a raucous crowd there- but she realizes this RIZIN card will be seven times greater in terms of the cumulative amount of people that are expected to be present.

BKFC

The fans in Japan can expect high output, no quit, and a fervent pace from two proven action fighters among the women in BKFC per Sigala. While she is known as ‘BKFC Sweetheart’, Sigala is one of the most proven action intensive fighters in the company with a seemingly bottomless reserve of guts and tenacity.

She has had notable clashes against Britain Hart in that aforementioned first ever 115 pound title fight for the company (which she took on three days notice) and Sigala’s classic clash at KnuckleMania I vs Taylor Starling, and felt the Starling fight really vaulted BKFC to a higher level of notoriety and put them on the map in a bigger way than the promotion had been previously. Sigala also trained with Tatiana Suarez in her early MMA days and Sigala is now game to fight whoever as well as whenever considering the adversities/ fighting force that she dealt with in Suarez from those training sessions.

Starling and Hart are fighting for the latter’s belt soon and Sigala would love to get back into that title mix for a rematch with either combatant. While she is fighting at a 120 pound catchweight here vs Emery, Sigala wants to go back down to 115 pounds for that sophomore strawweight title bid down the line.

The post Charisa Sigala Eyes “Bloody Battle” vs Tai Emery at Super RIZIN 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Emery is training in Dubai out of TK MMA after having spent years training in Thailand and sleeping on cold, hard concrete floors. She was doing everything possible to learn her craft after becoming a combat sports athlete later in the game than many.

Tai Emery is returning to bare-knuckle after a bit over a year and a half. BKFC Thailand 4 was her last bout and she fought eventual BKFC Thailand champion Po Denman and went the distance with someone who has knocked out a man in bare-knuckle.

The COVID years were spent in Thailand and she carved out her name on the BKFC’s circuit out in that country. The promotion is now expanding the sport to Japan and Emery will be making history here in the first-ever women’s bare-knuckle boxing bout to transpire in that country.

Emery had previously targeted spending time in Japan as an exchange student in her younger years. It never came to fruition and she’s now finally visiting the country for the first time years later.

Misfits Boxing has also signed Emery with gloved boxing goals in the future for the former football player as well.

Tai Emery

Through that aforementioned fight vs the BKFC Thailand 115 pound titleholder, Emert discovered a leaking breast implant. Her health is now back in alignment and the vigor for competition as well as the general positivity/ appreciation for life gets to once again be expressed in professional combat sports competition.

BKFC in RIZIN

RIZIN

Super Rizin 3

Tai Emery thinks she can utilize the 120 pound limit to become a vehicle to facilitate entertaining fights with both strawweights and flyweights that bookend this catchweight limit. She has called out Paige VanZant in the past and also seems keen on a fight with BKFC strawweight champion Britain Hart. She pointedly stated that she wants a Hart fight for the Baddest Bitch Belt at a later juncture.

Super Rizin 3 also features BKFC flyweight champion John Dodson fighting Takaki Soya under bare-knuckle rules in a non-title affair. Emery is also honoured to be on a massive card with Manny Pacquiao. She appreciates being on big events with legends as Emery made her bare-knuckle boxing debut on the undercard of Buakaw who also made his first fighting foray into gloveless combat.

Ahead of this landmark moment, Emery is embracing her superstar quality as of late. She has heard about this energy her whole life and now finally feels in a place to best utilize it as her bare-knuckle journey coincides with BKFC’s global expansion efforts.

Towards the end of our chat, Emery jokingly called herself an airheaded killer. But then also stated how she just had a brain scan done with the doctor telling her how thick her skull was all around to the scale of two and a half times more than the average person.

The post Tai Emery Sees “Blood War” in BKFC Bout at Super RIZIN 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.

When I caught up with him, Tokoro was very excited to be working on new things after already having had seventy pro MMA fights. He was working on these new things during a recent training stint in Thailand. This included a more CrossFit-centric approach and the new aspects to his training have made him feel much better physically as a whole. This after nearly a quarter century into his professional mixed martial arts run.

Specifically under the RIZIN FF banner, Tokoro has been with the company since its very first show. An IG post from RFF showcased pre-fight pictures of Tokoro before all his fights with the company and praised it as Japan’s biggest as well as best promotion.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by RIZIN FF OFFICIAL (@rizin_pr)

Hideo Tokoro

The tenured veteran humbly stated he doesn’t have the cleanest record and isn’t the best out there. But Tokoro feels this prolific run with RIZIN has been “a miracle” in his own words.

This is someone who knows what they’re talking about in terms of powerhouses Japanese MMA promotions having fought for Shooto, Pancrase, Rings, K-1 Heroes, Vale Tudo Japan, DREAM since his 2000 debut.

Tokoro has been part of some big RIZIN Fighting Federation moments both within MMA and otherwise. There was great historical connectivity within the tag team grappling contest that he took part in where he teamed with Kazushi Sauraba to take on Wanderlei Silva and Kiyoshi Tamura under the RFF banner. Sakuraba and Silva obviously have a well-established competitive history from PRIDE FC and Tokoro also fought Tamura at K-1 Dynamite.

That tag team contest was described as “a surreal experience” and like “living in a dream”. ‘Little Volk’ called Tamura his idol and felt the walkouts were ridiculous in a good way. Silva’s classic ‘Sandstorm’ entrance transfixed all and while being in-ring, watching Sakuraba enter was an unforgettable moment for Tokoro in a career that has been chalk full of them.

Beyond Silva, another major rivalry for Sakuraba was his rivalry with the Gracie family which Tokoro also has some experience with as well. Tokoro has fought Royce Gracie, Royler Gracie, and also Rickson’s son Kron Gracie. When discussing his multi-generational competitive history with one of MMA’s royal families, Tokoro said,

“First, I fought Royce. He was the legend, he was the one who introduced MMA, solidified MMA to the world. He fought in the UFC, he has a Vale Tudo pedigree. So for me, it was just like fighting an absolute legend. So I remember being super nervous and fighting him with the utmost respect I had. When I fought Royler, that was a year after Royce.”

“So I’m thinking holy crap, I fight Royce now and then a year later I get the opportunity to fight Royler. This is nuts, this is surreal. It’s like living in a dream. Then we move to RIZIN and I get to fight Kron. But that fight, I only remember myself getting absolutely destroyed [laughs]. So I don’t remember too much from that fight. But I remember Rickson Gracie in his corner and I was thinking holy crap, Rickson in his corner.”

“I can’t believe I’ve been given this opportunity to be able to compete against such a great opportunity. I was nothing but grateful for this opportunity. You know when you think about it, there are not too many Japanese fighters who get the opportunity to face so many Gracies.”

Super Rizin 3

Tokoro continued, “So for me, I think this is one of the best things that’s happened to my life. This is something that I can be extremely proud of and I can brag about. This is definitely a treasure that I’ll be taking along with me to my grave.”

Speaking of bragging rights, Tokoro occupies rarefied in the sport by fighting across seven weight categories throughout his competitive efforts. Tokoro has fought from flyweight all the way up to heavyweight and when discussing this, Hideo Tokoro stated,

“You know, Dylan. I had absolutely no idea that I had that kind of status or even bragging rights. So I am very surprised but I am extremely happy to know that right now.”

Having interviewed John Dodson ahead of fighting Tokoro, the multi-time UFC flyweight title challenger spoke highly of the Japanese veteran. He specifically praised Tokoro for fighting across such a vast range of weight categories.

In mentioning Dodson, the BKFC flyweight champion fights on this same card in a bare-knuckle boxing bout. John Dodson clashes with Takaki Soya in a non-title bout at Super RIZIN 3. Manny Pacquiao also fights on this massive card too in what is truly a combat sports extravaganza.

This is the first time in Tokoro’s near twenty-five years of MMA, he is not able to buy tickets for his core people to attend his contest. While he mentioned how he is freaked out, Tokoro also feels it speaks to the magnitude of an event like this.

In terms of the next task at hand, Kondo is a veteran of DEEP and has been in RIZIN for a few fights now. He is someone who has a high finishing rate and conversely, the majority of Hiroya Kondo’s losses are on points.

Speaking of Kondo’s resume and overall skillset, Hideo Tokoro quipped,

“First, I think he’s got a very good heart. He fights with good spirit, he’s very aggressive. He’s got tons of stamina and he’s a crowd-pleaser. He’s that type of fighter where I was watching him fight and by the time I realize it, I’m cheering for him. So I think he’s a true professional in a fact where he delivers and he’s a crowd pleaser. The fans get behind him.”

“He doesn’t have the cleanest record, he doesn’t have a clean record I think. A lot of people say that there are some similarities between me and Hiroya. So I hadn’t really thought about it that way but now that I do think about it, maybe that’s good. But overall, he’s a very good human and he’s a good fighter… I can guarantee that this will be a great, fantastic fight.”

RIZIN FF

As someone with multiple fight-of-the-year contender bouts, this praise from the 2011 DREAM bantamweight grand prix champion for Kondo is huge and also bodes well for the fans with both bringing such electric, crowd-pleasing styles.

This fight is a barnburner on paper but it may be the last time the proverbial barn gets burnt down if Tokoro does not get his ideal outcome. While he wants to continue doing what he loves, he remarked how it really doesn’t matter if he doesn’t leave results.

Despite the backdrop of potentially hanging up the gloves with a loss here, the catch wrestling savant is confident he can put on a good performance amid a stacked lineup. Hideo Tokoro aims to find a way to stand out this weekend. He has found a way to do through many permutations of the sport since the dawn of the new millenium and his entry into the game.

The post Hideo Tokoro: 70 Fight MMA Vet Teases Swan Song at Super RIZIN 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.

After nearly 20 professional MMA fights, Soya is making his bare-knuckle debut here. He will be diving into the deep end of the proverbial pool here by taking on a BKFC titleholder in his first foray within this sport.

The training work has obviously shifted for Soya in the lead-up to this matchup. He has had sessions with globally ranked, champion boxers and world-ranked combatants within the sweet science at Watanabe Boxing Gym.

This is a fresh coat of paint for Soya after he had a knee injury last May. On the heels of that, he only had one MMA fight last year. On social media, he targeted a championship for 2024 and with this new opportunity, the focus has seemingly shifted from RIZIN MMA hardware to wanting the BKFC strap.

This would presumably be within his crosshairs if he can win this non-title affair against the reigning Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship king of 125 pounds. That being said, Takaki Soya does want to concurrently compete in mixed martial arts along with bare-knuckle.

As far as when the veteran of Shooto and DEEP was exposed to this permutation of gloveless combat sport, Soya told us recently that “When I was first introduced to the bare-knuckle boxing sport last year in 2023, up until then I had no idea it had even existed. So I saw bare-knuckle boxing clips on social media. It just came on my feed, timeline, I just was introduced to it through social media. I thought it was extreme. I thought it was a very exciting, extreme ruleset. If you call yourself a fighter, you should be able to challenge these rules.”

“These extreme, thrilling rules sometime down the line. So the moment I saw it on my social media feed, I wanted to compete in it as an MMA fighter. So I had an offer for an MMA fight this year. It was supposed to happen, it didn’t happen, then it was supposed to happen again.”

Super RIZIN 3

Soya continued, “But there was some things with my MMA fight and I wasn’t ready for it. So for me to lose an opportunity to fight, I just wanted to fight anything, right? So once that MMA fight fell through, I got an offer for this fight and I took it without hesitation.”

For someone who has a highlight reel finish by way of a soccer kick at RIZIN 16, it says a lot that Soya touts the extreme nature of the BKFC ruleset. The gloveless nature of BKFC drew comparisons from him to Lethwei and Takaki Soya feels the considerations of bare-knuckle are way more extreme than soccer kicks.

The native of Chiba, Japan also is open about having a terminal disease. Because of this, he never knows when his last fight will be. Every time in the ring, Soya sees the moment as he’s “about to burn my life again.” This statement came from an Instagram post regarding this fight.

As he next steps into the fire, he does so versus John Dodson who is a former multi-time UFC flyweight title challenger. Also like Soya, he has also fought under MMA rules with Rizin FF. In regards to Dodson’s resume and skillset within bare-knuckle boxing, Takaki Soya quipped,

“So obviously I’ve studied his MMA fights and in both fights [MMA and bare-knuckle], his style is not too different regardless of the rules. Like his weapons, his athleticism, his speed, his footwork, and his left hand. When you look at his UFC fights, a lot of his knockouts, his finishes come from his left… He uses his strength in BKFC. Beware of his left hand.”

Takaki Soya vs John Dodson

The 29-year-old recently celebrated his five-year anniversary with the company this June. Soya now readies to compete on a card alongside names like boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. That being said, Soya tunes out the noise and tries to focus on the task at hand instead of getting lost in the magnitude of being on a massive combat sports extravaganza like this.

The gigantic event in question will transpire later this week and Takaki Soya looks to shock the world. To do so, he must take out one of the sport’s very best in his first time throwing down with the gloves off.

The post Takaki Soya Will “Burn My Life” Versus John Dodson in BKFC Bout at Super Rizin 3 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Hill is excited to experience something different here with this show and travel to Bratislava, Slovakia in this Oktagon MMA debut. There were prior plans to fight for Oktagon MMA in 2019 but Hill ended up plying his trade under the Bellator MMA banner for a few years. In the wake of PFL acquiring Bellator and things not shaking out favorably with Hill continuing with that new MMA entity, the Oktagon deal finally came to fruition years later.

Hill describes the relatively recent experience with PFL as “a pain in the ass” and “a piss off.” He previously vied for the WSOF bantamweight belt twice with WSOF eventually becoming PFL. But this go around with the company for Josh Hill was far less ideal comparatively.

The Ontario native seemed to have wanted a bit more transparency as far as who would stay and conversely, who would be released under this new regime.

Josh Hill mentioned how he knows a number of fighters who were released as well and while he understands the business machinations behind why this happened, the former TKO veteran just wished some clarity was there sooner. So as to not waste months of time sitting on the sidelines when free agency could have been explored more.

As far as when this Oktagon MMA deal came into the picture, Hill stated that “it took a while. I just was saying to my manager, like I would love to fight for Oktagon. [Oktagon MMA] being one of them, one of [the promotions] on the top of the list. I was like, I’ll fight really for whoever [laughs]. Wherever I can go like RIZIN or ONE or Oktagon or whatever.”

“Or slide me back into a PFL tournament because I saw they were doing that too and they’re doing that Africa one. I don’t know, I was just saying give me something. I just; I need to fight. So yeah Oktagon was one of my top choices. Luckily [we] were able to get me in there.”

The Canadian combatant is in a great position now fighting a former Oktagon MMA champion here. Magard was actually supposed to fight for gold again against the man who took the belt from him last July. This was before the man in question, Felipe Lima, got called up to the UFC. While not overlooking Magard, Hill does see a potential quick path to gold within the company should he secure the win here over a former titleholder.

Oktagon 59

The 37-year-old wants to make waves and get big fights now. So to that point, he relishes the challenge of jumping right into the proverbial deep end of the pool within this new organization for him.

In regard to his thoughts on Magard’s resume and general skillset within mixed martial arts, Josh Hill said that “Yeah like his aggression for sure. He’s very confident, I think that’s something that carries over and helps him. Aggressive, he’s durable too, and he’s a guy; like he’s a gamer. I’m going into the fight in my mind, I’m going to go try and knock him out. Try and submit him obviously but I’m going to expect also a three-round war too you know. I’m preparing for every variable possible. So durable, durable aggressive guy, I think.”

“I mean my wrestling, my grappling, my speed I think, and my timing are things that I do well against everybody. I’ve had it in fights in the past to where guys that bring the fight and like to come at you, I do well with. I like that because it kind of raises my level too you know what I mean? So yeah, I think that could definitely make for an exciting fight, for sure.”

The post Josh Hill on “Exciting Fight” Versus Jonas Magard at Oktagon 59 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The first fight between these two marked Escoboza’s lone loss in bare-knuckle which took place during their July 2022 showdown. Of all of Warren’s BKFC wins, Escoboza was the lone fighter to go to the judges’ scorecards.

Jared Warren vs Jomi Escoboza II

When asked about what changes he may have seen in his opponent’s game before their sequel clash, Jared Warren said,

“I watched the two fights he’s had since I fought him. He won them both. It’s not even like a s**t talking kind of thing but I feel like he slowed down a little bit. Even though he won, I felt like he was looking kind of fatigued a bit in those fights. He had said something about he had a knee injury for one of them. So he wasn’t able to run as much or something.”

“But even though I do agree that he won the fights fair and square, I feel like he did slow down some. For me like I never stop training and never stop trying to improve. Because I feel like there’s just an endless amount of things to learn about boxing. So I’m just always in there trying to up my game and I’m definitely a much-improved fighter from our first fight two years ago. I’ve learned a lot of stuff since then.”

Lineal champion Lorenzo Hunt vacated the belt in this weight category. ‘The Juggernaut’ has a title reign at cruiserweight to focus on and also embarked on a recent attempt at BKFC heavyweight gold at KnuckleMania IV. Warren does admittedly wish he could have fought Hunt for this distinction. But that being said, ‘Captain Deadpool’ is just glad it’s a lineal belt and not for interim BKFC gold like his rematch with Josh Dyer was.

Jared Warren

The last fight Warren had saw him finish UK light heavyweight champion Danny Christie in the opening round at BKFC 55. The performance was so impressive that Mike Perry shouted out Warren’s effort there whilst appearing on The MMA Hour.

While BKFC middleweight champion and Shift Combat teammate David Mundell has been gunning for that Perry fight, if things pan out a certain way Warren thinks it would be cool to throw down with the King of Violence champion. Ultimately though, Warren is a true team player and would want his combative compatriot Mundell to get that coveted contest if possible.

The aforementioned Josh Dyer would seem next to fight whoever emerges as the champion. This inference can be made going off the present rankings hierarchy in the promotion.

BKFC 62

Warren has, as mentioned, fought Dyer twice before. When a possible fight down the line was mentioned to him, Jared Warren stated,

“Yeah, I’d definitely entertain it and down the line is key. The reason I say that is because he would need to earn it. If you look at his record, he hasn’t won a fight in almost three years. That’s because his last couple (of) fights which were like bigger paying, bigger name fights with me being included is they both ended on DQ. By something that he did because he was hurt both times. When he fought Joe Riggs, Joe Riggs dropped him.”

“He got up, he headbutted Joe Riggs. Split him open, it was a DQ, it was the end of the fight. Same thing, I fought him, I hurt him in the second round a couple (of) times, and he blasted me in the back of the head after the bell. I mean both times, he was looking for a way out. It sucks for everybody, the fighters involved. The organization doesn’t like it, they don’t want to have to pay to bring a kid back who keeps getting no contests and stuff.”

BKFC

Warren continued, “That being said if he actually went out, won a few fights fair and square then yeah I could see him being a possible contender. But as it sits right now, he doesn’t deserve the s***. Like I’ve been grinding, fighting the best guys consistently for years to get to this point. He’s been sitting on his ass being stupid (laughs).”

That being said, this Dyer discourse is moot unless Warren goes 2-0 over Jomi Escoboza. The number one ranked light heavyweight has a chance to do just that and finally cement himself as a lineal BKFC titleholder this weekend at BKFC 62 in Hollywood, Florida.

The post Jared Warren on Jomi Escoboza Rematch and Possible Mike Perry Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Warren is the lone man to have beaten Escoboza in bare knuckle competition and did so back in July 2022. Also, Escoboza is the only man to have gone the distance with Warren among Jared Warren’s BKFC wins.

This fight doesn’t just allow Escoboza a chance at redemption but a broader opportunity to entrench himself into the annals of the sport. ‘The Archangel’ made history in BYB Extreme by becoming the first 185-pound bare-knuckle champion in America. Jomi Escoboza would be the first man to become a two-promotion champion in this weight category if he wins on Friday.

When discussing the historical significance of this looming showdown, Escoboza said,

“Yeah, so this fight I’ll definitely be making bare-knuckle boxing history and it’s a huge motivational push to make history in such a big sport. Such an early sport, it’s only six years in. Marking my name in the history books early and just being one of the bare-knuckle GOATs. One of the bare-knuckle originals that came from the backyard (and) started from nothing.”

Escoboza continued, “(I) didn’t have the crazy MMA background or crazy combat sports background. I literally came out (of) the mud of Miami. So you know it feels great to make history in this sport and keep collecting titles. Be the closest person in bare-knuckle boxing to be in there for (the) undisputed champion at a certain weight class.”

“Because you know in the four belt era of boxing, there’s four belts that you collect; all of them in one weight class and you’re undisputed. But in bare-knuckle boxing, there (are) only really two big promotions right now that (are) worthy of taking those belts. I already have the number two, I’m about to get the number one. That should get me right there in the undisputed talks.”

Also, Escoboza collected that BYB belt in Florida which would create a certain synergy if he were to win BKFC gold in his home state as well.

Jomi Escoboza vs Jared Warren II

Escoboza’s martial arts base is in kung fu and the bare-knuckle style of martial arts has helped him a lot. The traditional Shaolin style of the combative art has carried over to great effect in multiple bare-knuckle boxing promotions. The knuckle conditioning from kung fu has galvanized his fists to become effective weapons in this ever-growing sport.

Jomi Escoboza is not overlooking this fight at all but cruiserweight gold is an indicated goal for him down the line. Ideally, the 33-year-old would notch a couple of defenses of the light heavyweight belt before pursuing gold at 205 pounds thereafter. Escoboza has a win over ranked cruiserweight Esteban Rodriguez already. So this weight category isn’t uncharted territory for him at all.

The Florida native mentioned how more urgency will be present in this second Warren fight. Escoboza felt he was too comfortable in their initial altercation working singular jabs as opposed to a more pressure-oriented, combo-heavy game.

BKFC 62

When discussing the action-heavy aspects both fighters look to bring to this sequel clash, Escoboza stated.

“In my mind, that’s what I’m thinking. That he’s coming to press the action because he’s the away guy. So in my mind, I already have that set in my mind. Even before he said it or before he was even thinking about it, in my mind I already put it there. Before he even put it there, so it’s like I’ve been prepared for all of that. I’ve been prepared for everything that he has coming.”

“I’ve gotten hit by his strongest punches, didn’t rock me, didn’t hurt me. Yeah, man, I’m gonna start dropping the bombs on this one, man. The last one, man, I did a disservice to everybody, to myself. Doing all of that damage and not even using both of my hands. So yeah, the amount of damage that’s going to be piling up in this one, if he survives long enough, it’s gonna be pretty disgusting.”

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