UFC alumnus Kris Moutinho wins bare BKFC debut

This past Friday, Kris Moutinho breathed new life into his combat sports career at BKFC Fight Night Mohegan Sun: Henry vs. Trinidad. He faced Michael Hernandez in a featherweight bare-knuckle boxing match, beating him in ruthless fashion to announce his arrival in the promotion.

Kris Moutinho finds his first finish in two years

The last time Kris Moutinho was on the right end of a finish was back in 2024, when he TKO'd Johnny Campbell in round two at Cage Titans 68. This time, in his BKFC debut, he rediscovered his killer instinct. With just a minute remaining in his bout with a battered Michael Hernandez, he started blasting right hooks to the body as Hernandez covered up, eventually splitting his guard with an uppercut that knocked him down for the second time in the fight. It was a knockdown from which Hernandez could not get up and the referee waved the fight off, handing Moutinho a TKO win.

The fight was a positive sign for Moutinho, who has always struggled under the brighest of lights. He's been more successful on the regional MMA scene, but failed to win a single bout when he signed with the UFC, going on a two-fight losing streak in his first stint with the promotion before parting ways. When he returned some years later after a five-fight win streak, it was more of the same, as he, again, suffered two back-to-back losses before leaving. Now, he has found a new home in a major promotion, but instead of MMA, it is bare-knuckle boxing, where several ex-UFC fighters and MMA journeymen have found success.

One of the more high-profile MMA fighters to have succeeded under the BKFC banner is former UFC featherweight knockout artist Jeremy Stephens, whose MMA record is 29-23 (1), and whose last 11 fights led to a 1-9 (1) run in the sport. By comparison, he's currently 3-1 in BKFC. Another MMA journeyman who became a star in BKFC, and is currently undefeated in the promotion is Mike Perry, who is 15-8 in MMA, but 6-0 as a bare-knuckle boxer. So, despite past struggles, Moutinho will be right at home in BKFC.