Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is back tonight with BKFC 17, live from the Magic City of Birmingham, Alabama, at the historic Boutwell Auditorium. The event is headlined by a heavyweight title eliminator between “The Hammer” Josh Burns and hometown favorite “Big” Frank Tate. Tate was promoted from the main card to the main event following an injury to original headliner Dillon Cleckler.
Both Tate and Burns are MMA veterans in the beginning stages of their career resurgences under the BKFC banner. Burns is coming off of a win over Chris Sarro, who is also competing on the main card against Pakistani striking standout Ezatullah Kakar. Tate will look earn his first win in BKFC by employing a hefty reach advantage. The winner will earn a title fight against current heavyweight champion Joey Beltran.
Another Birmingham native takes center stage in the co-main event as former University of Alabama football player “Swift” Marcel Stamps takes on the debuting former LFA and Bellator veteran Mike Richman. “The Marine” Richman makes his BKFC debut, weighing in over 25 pounds heavier than his accustomed lightweight division in MMA at 179.2 pounds. He will have a ten inch reach disadvantage against Stamps, who looks to rebound from a title fight loss to Beltran last October.
The BKFC 17 main card also features many organizational fan favorites, including an expected slugfest between “The Juggernaut” Lorenzo Hunt and Josh Dyer in the cruiserweight division. Italian Dimitri Angelini takes on 34-fight MMA veteran Ronnie Rogers in both of their BKFC debuts. “The Bible Belt Brawler” Bobo O’Bannon makes his return on about a week’s notice against “The Shark” Zach Calmus, Tate’s original opponent. Both Robert Washington and Ryan Jones will face each other, and look to make good on their sophomore BKFC outings. “Your Local Ninja” Tom Shoaff tries to return to form off of a two-fight losing streak against “Flawless” Nathan Mitchell to round out the main card.
The BKFC 17 preliminary card features veteran Rusty Crowder looking to even up his record in the BKFC Circle against “Black Mamba” Daniel Gary. To kick off the card, 6’1 bantamweight Anthony Retic receives a home crowd advantage against “The Bluegrass Kid” Raymond Locker.
MMA Sucka has fight fans covered with the BKFC 17 results tonight. The main card starts at 9pm ET/6pm PT on BKTV, preceded by two preliminary card fights on BKFCs YouTube page at 8pm ET/5pm PT.
BKFC 17 Results
Main Card
Frank Tate def. Josh Burns via TKO (corner stoppage), 1:02 of Round 3
Mike Richman def. Marcel Stamps via TKO (shoulder injury), 1:11 of Round 1
Lorenzo Hunt def. Josh Dyer via TKO (referee’s stoppage), 0:52 of Round 5
Ronnie Rogers def. Dimitri Angelini via TKO (overhand right), 1:37 of Round 1
Bobo O’Bannon def. Zach Calmus via TKO (doctor’s stoppage), 2:00 of Round 2
Ezatullah Kakar def. Chris Sarro via knockout (left hook counter), 0:46 of Round 1
Robert Washington def. Ryan Jones via TKO (doctor’s stoppage due to cut), 0:52 of Round 2
Tom Shoaff def. Nathan Mitchell via TKO (right hook-left hook combo to the body), 1:38 of Round 1
Preliminary Card
Rusty Crowder def. Daniel Gary via knockout (straight-hook combo), 1:00 of Round 1
Anthony Retic def. Raymond Locker via knockout (right uppercut-left hook combo), 0:38 of Round 1
