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Thiago Alves got his hand raised in his bare-knuckle debut whilst Hector Lombard made easy work of Kendall Grove at BKFC 12.
Two UFC veterans picked up wins at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 12, as Thiago Alves won a close decision against Julian Lane and Hector Lombard knocked out Kendall Grove.
Alves fought 27 times in the UFC during his 14-years in the promotion. The Brazilian said before the fight with Lane, he is retired from MMA and will now pursue a career in BKFC. Lane is mostly known for his time on The Ultimate Fighter, where he appeared on season 16 and 25. The 33-year-old has fought in bare-knuckle since 2018.
Lane filled in for Phil Baroni on short-notice to face Alves. Both men had their moments in the fight, with Lane starting well and Alves finding his rhythm later on in the fight. Two judges saw it 48-47 for Alves and one 48-47 for Lane, giving “Pitbull” the split decision win.
The co-main event of the card featured two former UFC fighters as Hector Lombard picked up the first stoppage win of his BKFC career by beating Kendall Grove in the first round. Lombard, 42, dropped Grove three times in the first round, with the referee waving off the fight in under two minutes as Grove offered no reply to the onslaught from Lombard.
BKFC returns on October 10 in Salina, Kansas City and will feature the debut of former Olympic boxer Nico Hernandez.
Undercard Results
Reggie Barnett Jr def. Abdiel Velazquez via unanimous decision
Christine Ferea def. Calie Cutler via TKO (round two)
Lorenzo Hunt def. Erick Lozano via KO (round three)
Josh Dyer def. Jared Warren via TKO (round three)
Joe Elmore def. Tom Shoaff via unanimous decision
Jarod Grant def. Joshua Boudreaux via TKO (round two)
Prelim Results
Kenmon Evans def. Robert Washington via KO (round one)
Rusty Crowder def. Jacob Brunelle via unanimous decision