Forget the gloves, this is straight old school old school.
Combat sports thrived in 2018.
Never before has there been more options for your fighting enjoyment. From Boxing and MMA’s continued broadcast proliferation to new streaming services, the world is always watching a fight.
One sport came literally out of nowhere to challenge your perspective of what is right and wrong in sports. Bare Knuckle Fighting. This is not your elementary school level brawling here, but sanctioned fights where hand protection is trash-canned.
On Saturday, June 2nd from Cheyenne, Wyoming, “BKFC: The Beginning” started the combat oddity turned revolution. The first legal, regulated and sanctioned bare knuckle event in the U.S. since 1889, the Philly promotion took a gamble.
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The BKFC promoters are preserving the little known historical legacy of bare-knuckle fighting. They’ve developed a specific rule set and circular four-rope ring encouraging fast-paced and exciting bouts. The “Squared Circle” even contains scratch lines, based on the rules which governed the sport in the 19th century.
Fighters have to “Toe the Line” at the start of every round, face to face, inches apart.
Terry Donovan style
Premium cable junkies have seen Hollywood’s fictional “Fixer” Ray Donovan’s brother Terry Donovan fighting in underground bare-knuckle clubs this season. Although the staged dramatics are more reminiscent of an archaic scene from “Fight Club”, the intrigue has always been there.
There also is the benefit to cash-starved unconventional sporting regions like Wyoming and Mississippi. But the main winners are the fighters who, after a legacy in a ring or a cage, finally have another financial option.
In BKFC, only those fighters who are established professionals in boxing, MMA, kickboxing, or Muay Thai are allowed to compete. Veteran fighters like Ricco Rodriguez, Leonard Garcia, and Bobby Gunn show that older careers can have a jumpstart.
The world after fighting for many athletes is a treacherous one of despair and although the pain threshold might be higher, the ability to compete is available.
Combat sports keeps on trucking and now that bare-knuckle fighting is here, fighters will remember 2018 as the year their lifeline was extended.
