Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) will kick off its 2021 fight campaign with the “Knucklemania” pay-per-view (PPV) fight card on Feb. 5 in Lakeland, Fla., headlined by former UFC strawweight star Paige VanZant.
“!2 Gauge” will be making her bare knuckle debut opposite BKFC veteran Britain Hart, who is fresh off her technical knockout victory over Randine Elkholm. In the “Knucklemania” co-main event, former UFC bantamweight “Brutal” Johnny Bedford collides with Dat “Dat Be Dat” Nguyen (amazing nickname).
“Britain’s a real tough girl – she’s skilled, but she’s not the best technical boxer in the world,” BKFC President David Feldman told MMA Fighting. “Paige isn’t going to have to chase her down. It’s going to be competitive, but I think it’s going to be a good opponent choice for Paige on her first event.”
In addition, original “Ultimate Fighter” bad boy Chris Leben returns for gloveless combat opposite BKFC knockout artist Quentin Henry. Win or lose, the 40-year old “Crippler” is expected to retire after next month’s battle against “The Hero.”
The action gets underway at 9 p.m. ET on Feb. 5 and streams for $29.99 on a variety of platforms, including DirecTV, DISH Network, and FIOS, among others (full list here). Socially distanced tickets for those fans wishing to attend are available here.