Johny Hendricks will headline the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation’s debut card against former Bellator fighter Brennan Ward.
Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks will be returning to professional competition less than a year after retiring, ditching the 4-ounce MMA gloves to fight Brennan Ward in a bare-knuckle boxing match.
Fightbook MMA first reported the matchup. Hendricks and Ward will headline the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation’s first ever event ‘Rise of the Titans’ on November 9th. Last month, the promotion announced they had signed UFC veterans Melvin Guillard and Josh Neer.
Hendricks (18-8) announced his retirement from MMA in June of this year. “Bigg Rigg” struggled in the UFC after losing his welterweight title to Robbie Lawler in late 2014, only picking up two wins in his last seven fights for the promotion. Hendricks last fought against Paulo Costa in November 2017, losing by second-round TKO.
Much like his opponent, Ward (14-6) also recently announced his retirement from MMA after he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Andre Fialho at Bellator 207. A Bellator MMA veteran, “The Irish Bad Boy” once challenged for the middleweight title against Alexander Shlemenko, but lost by submission. Only one of his 20 pro fights has ever gone the distance.
The WBKFF will host their debut card at the Casper Events Center in Wyoming on November 9th, it will be live on PPV and available to purchase on FITE TV. UFC veterans Chris Leben and Phil Baroni will also face each other on the card, and former American football linebacker Shawne Merriman will fight Mike Bourke.