BKFC 81 fight week is upon us. Saturday, after a fortnight away from the ring, David Feldman’s promotion is back in action for the first of two consecutive weekends of competitive violence.
The organization heads across the pond for the first bare-knuckle event of the autumn schedule. AO Arena serves as the setting for this coming weekend’s card. Coverage of the event begins with the countdown show on the BKFC app at 1 pm ET/ 10 am PT.
Action from Manchester follows an hour later at 2 pm ET/ 11 am PT on DAZN. If there are no 11th-hour adjustments to the bout order, the final version of BKFC 81 will feature a slate of 12 fights.
BKFC 81 Main Event: James DeGale vs. Matt Floyd
At the top of the bill on Saturday is a light heavyweight fight between a pair of bare-knuckle debutants. James DeGale, who went 25-3-1 with 15 KOs in traditional boxing, squares off against former UBO Cruiserweight World Champion Matt Floyd, who posted a 15-2 mark with 10 KOs under standard pugilism rules.
All fights on BKFC 81, main event included, will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at two minutes per round. Degale makes the first walk under bare-knuckle rules on Saturday night having posted a record of 2-2-1 in his last five boxing matches.
Back on Feb. 23, 2019, he ended his traditional boxing career with a unanimous decision defeat after 12 rounds at the hands of Chris Eubank Jr. (35-3, 12 KOs) for the then-vacant IBO World Super-Middleweight Championship. Degale was knocked down twice over the 36 minutes of action.
This is a seasoned veteran of competitive violence who’s been out of the ring for more than six and a half years time. Can DeGale move into the next phase of his pugilism career with a victory on Saturday night?
Meanwhile, Matt Floyd comes in having gone 3-2 in his last five traditional boxing contests. This past June, he came out on the wrong end of a four-round unanimous decision versus Jack Gregory (7-1, 2 KOs) in Broadbeach, Queensland.
While he’s had 17 career fights as a pro, BKFC 81 is new territory for Floyd. How will he fare here?
BKFC 81 Co-Main Event: Aaron Chalmers vs. Jack Fincham
Action stays in the light heavyweight ranks for the BKFC 81 co-main event when Aaron Chalmers (1-0 bare-knuckle,) who went 5-2 in MMA, faces off with Jack Fincham (1-0, BKFC debut.) Chalmers has posted 3-2 in his last five fights that have counted across the disciplines.
On April 5, he finished Chas Symonds just 16 seconds into the third round of the fight in BKFC 72 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This is Chalmers’ sophomore appearance in BKFC.
Can the Bellator alumnus go 2-for-2 this Saturday? Only time will tell.
Across the way, Jack Fincham has only one professional contest to his credit, a March 1 hybrid fight contested using MMA gloves. That night, he secured the victory on points over Shae Wynter after five rounds of action.
Fincham fought with the gloves almost seven months ago, but now he has to go without them. Will he enter victory lane this weekend?
BKFC 81 Featured Fight: Vacant BKFC UK Lightweight Championship: Jonny Graham vs. Navid Mansouri
Also on BKFC 81 on Saturday night, the Vacant BKFC UK Lightweight Championship is at stake when Jonny Graham (2-1 bare-knuckle,) who went 5-0 with no knockouts in traditional boxing, meets Navid Mansouri (1-0 bare-knuckle,) former British Boxing Board of Control Super-Welterweight Champion. Mansouri’s boxing record was 22-4-2 with seven knockouts.
Graham has gone 4-1 over the last five fights across all competitions. Back on Aug. 10, 2024, he saw his seven-fight winning streak get snapped by unanimous decision after 10 minutes of action at the hands of Connor Tierney (9-2 bare-knuckle) in Coventry.
He’s had north of 13 months of inactivity going into BKFC 81 this coming weekend. How much ring rust does he have ahead of this one?
In the other corner, Mansouri has posted a 3-2 record in his previous five fights. At the moment, he’s won three fights in a row.
Last time out, he scored a first-round knockout in 44 seconds against Ruslan Tokhtarov (1-1 bare-knuckle) on April 26 in BKFC 73 in Florence, Italy. Mansouri has had five months away from the ring ahead of this title fight. Who will be the champion?
Final Thoughts
Which fight or fights are you looking forward to on BKFC 81? Let us know in the comments.
