The fastest rising combat sport, bare knuckle boxing has the event BKFC 16 streaming March 19th. Bare knuckle fighting has been very entertaining in the combat world. Also, the youth of the sport has made picking winners very difficult to predict. Fights are five, two-minute rounds where cuts come quickly, so do not look away.
Their last event, Knuckle Mania, had nine finishes and only three decisions. Then, BKFC 15 had eight finishes out of the ten matches. In this article, we will cover the co-main and main event of the BKFC 16 card.
Co-Main Event at Bantamweight
“Chop Chop” DeMarcus Corley will take on experienced bare knuckler Reggie Barnett Jr. After six fights in BKFC, Barnett has lost only once and it is to the past bantamweight champ Johnny Bedford. “Chop Chop” is making his bare knuckle debut at BKFC 16, but he is no rookie to the striking game. His pro boxing record is 51-33-1. Losing four straight boxing matches explains the move to try something new.
Most fans will believe this is an easy bout to predict being this match has a past professional boxer. However, the better striker does not always dominate in the bare knuckle ring. A perfect example is pro boxer Paulie Malignaggi losing a decision in his debut against Artem Lobov. In bare knuckle, cuts start early and aggression moves a lot faster.
Making the prediction is tough and respect is needed for a fighter with professional boxing experience. Corley can use his skills to control the ring, Barnett needs to push forward to give the BKFC 16 crowd a show. In this match, both fighters won’t want a high-level striker to get comfortable.
Main Event at Super Lightweight
Long-time warrior Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia will face Joe “Hitman” Elmore in the BKFC 16 main event. Both men are just starting their careers in the newer sport. Garcia is known for the explosive fighting style in MMA in promotions like UFC and WEC. His opponent Joe Elmore is also experienced in the MMA, however, with more small organizations all over the United States.
This will be the third bout in the promotion for both men. Joe Elmore is undefeated in the BKFC ring so far in his career. “Bad Boy” won his debut in 2019, but was finished by Jim Alers in the same year. The “Hitman” has a 52 second knockout over Will Chope, followed by a decision win over Tom Shoaff that was easy to score. The styles match up better for this fight with the aggressive offense from both corners.
Fireworks will fly when this bell rings making the winner hard to pick. Garcia getting up there at age 41 and coming off the knockout loss does not help. Moreover, the age advantage is not very high with Joe Elmore being 38, but the last knockout loss was in 2018. This has to give Elmore the small edge come fight night.
Event Information
BKFC 16 will stream live on Bareknuckle.TV, Friday, March 19th, 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. The cost is very cheap and well worth the membership. Every event is crazy with blood flying and bodies dropping. The membership runs $3.99 per month or $49.99 for a year.
Also, MMA legend Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard will take on Scott O’Shaughnessy in their bare knuckle debut. Total of nine bouts on the card, and just about every weight class.
There are other promotions available on the app like Toe The Line and Bare Knuckle Kingdom. Bare Knuckle Kingdom 1 aired March 5th in Thailand. The event was even held outside and looked like a Mortal Kombat movie.
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Featured Image Credits to BKFC
