Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) darling, Paige VanZant, turns in the four-ounce gloves TONIGHT (Fri., Feb. 5, 2021) when she headlines Bareknuckle Fighting Championship’s (BKFC) latest pay-per-view (PPV) extravaganza against promotional regular, Britain Hart.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE coverage of the “Knucklemania” PPV main card below, which kicks off at 9 p.m. ET right here. The event also features a trio of free “Prelims” bouts on YouTube.
The 26-year-old “12 Gauge” ended her Octagon run last year after a submission loss to Amanda Ribas and now faces a stiff test in the durable Hart, who’s gone 4-4-3 as a professional boxer and 1-2 in the “Squared Circle.” The two losses came via split decision to UFC veteran Bec Rawlings and via cut stoppage to current division standout Christine Ferea. The evening’s best match up comes in the co-feature, which sees Octagon washout turned undefeated (5-0) bareknuckle menace, Johnny Bedford, defend his Bantamweight title against former 20-3 professional boxer Dat Nguyen. In addition, Chris Leben returns to action against Quentin Henry (2-0).
BKFC 16 ‘Knucklemania’ Quick Results:
Paige Van Zant vs. Britain Hart
Johnny Bedford vs. Dat Nguyen
Chris Leben vs. Quentin Henry
Martin Brown vs. Zach Zane
Lorenzo Hunt vs. Rob Morrow
John Chalbeck vs. Greg Bono — Chalbeck def. Bono by KO at 0:20 of Round Three
Haim Gozali vs. John McAllister — Gozali def. McAllister by KO at 1:08 of Round Two
Dillon Cleckler vs. Chris Jensen — Cleckler def. Jensen by KO at 0:24 of Round One
Charisa Sigala vs. Taylor Starling — Starling def. Sigala by unanimous decision (50-43 x2, 49-44)
David Morgan vs. Travis Thompson — Thompson def. Morgan by TKO at 0:22 of Round Two
Jarod Grant vs. Brandon Lambert — Grant def. Lambert by KO at 1:11 of Round Three
Drew Lipton vs. Jeff Bailey —
BKFC 16 ‘Knucklemania’ Round-By-Round Updates:
Featherweight: Paige VanZant vs. Britain Hart
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Round four:
Round five:
Final result:
BKFC Bantamweight Championship: Johnny Bedford vs. Dat Nguyen
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Round four:
Round five:
Final result:
Heavyweight: Chris Leben vs. Quentin Henry
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Round four:
Round five:
Final result:
Lightweight: Martin Brown vs. Zach Zane
Round one:
Round two:
Round three:
Round four:
Round five:
Final result:
Light Heavyweight; Lorenzo Hunt vs. Rob Morrow
Round one: Relatively tentative start. Hunt lunches in with a right that falls short. Mostly just feints from both men. Morrow lands a counter right. Halfway through. Hunt steps in, both men land in the exchange. Morrow tries a jab. Morrow with some nice counters before the bell. 10-9 Morrow.
Round two: This fight is largely Hunt feinting just out of range and periodically bursting in. Crowd isn’t happy. Morrow just misses with a couple combos. Halfway through. 1-3 by Hunt. Right to the body. Hunt sneaks in a left hook, takes some return fire. Big swings from Hunt. 10-9 Hunt.
Round three: Morrow tries a left to the body, falls short. The next combination lands clean and drops Hunt, but the ref calls it a slip. Hunt rushes in halfway through, misses. Morrow with a Superman punch, prompting Hunt to charge in with some wild swings. 10-9 Morrow.
Round four:
Round five:
Final result:
Featherweight: John Chalbeck vs. Greg Bono
Round one: Quick left hook and right hand from Chalbeck. Bono definitely the less technical of the two. Body shot, 3-2 by Chalbeck. Fast jab. 1-2. Lead right, then a three-punch combo. He shrugs off an overhand right and pours on combinations until Bono goes down. He’s up near the end of the count and Chalbeck continues the barrage. He takes his foot off the gas for a bit, then cracks Bono with right hands. They trade in the clinch. 10-8 Chalbeck.
Round two: Chalbeck working behind the jab, takes a body shot. Good head movement, continuing to taunt. Bono tries overhand rights. Nice uppercuts by Chalbeck, Bono comes back with an overhand, and Chalbeck batters his body in the clinch. Good right around the guard halfway through, clinch. Chalbeck lead uppercut. Bono comes back with a flurry. Counter right by Chalbeck, eats a jab, trades inside. 10-9 Chalbeck.
Round three: Sneaky lead uppercut hurts Bono and Chalbeck follows with a right hook to put him down for the count. Bono looks like something in his face is broken.
Final result: Chalbeck def. Bono by KO
Light Heavyweight: Haim Gozali vs. John McAllister
Round one: McAllister marches right into the clinch, tried to land inside. Extremely aggressive early. Ref separates them again. McAllister continues to advance and spins him around with a lead right. Gozali ties up for a breather. Again a minute in. More clinching. McAllister punching in the clinch. Separation. Flurry from McAllister seems to ding Gozali, who clinches again. Wild exchange. 10-9 McAllister
Round two: Gozali goes back to the clinch, lands some body shots. Good right by McAllister, but Gozali responds with a vicious combination. A right hand sends McAllister to the mat, and while he beats the count, he looks totally compromised. Clinch punches put him down again. He’s up, but McAllister is done.
Final result: Gozali def. McAllister by TKO
Light Heavyweight: Dillon Cleckler vs. Chris Jensen
Round one: Both men fall short early, then Cleckler knocks him back with a straight right before crushing him with another right to the body. Jensen’s in agony and he doesn’t even come close to beating the count.
Final result: Cleckler def. Jensen by KO
Bantamweight: Charisa Sigala vs. Taylor Starling
Round one: They meet in the center and go Frye-Takayama for a bit before the ref splits them up. Starling already cut. constant exchanges, Sigala seems like the more technical. As I say that, Starling floors her with a right cross halfway through. Sigala beats the count and Starling is all over her. Brutal punches from both women. Sigala landing on the retreat. They clinch before the bell. 10-8 Starling.
Round two: Right back to the close-quarters bruising. Sigala the more technical, Starling finding success with her pressure. Trading in the clinch. Good counter rights from Sigala. Separation. Good 1-2 from Starling halfway through, then another right cross that puts Sigala on her seat. She beats the count again, but is struggling to get out of the way of Starling’s right hand. Clinch. 1-1-2 from Starling. 10-8 Starling.
Round three: The story continues, and there’s another big cross by Starling. Good jabs, big right behind them. The pressure’s working for her. Halfway through. Sigala lands a combo, eats a pair of crosses. Right hands continue to land for Starling. Sigala gets in some nice shots at the end that split Starling’s cut back open. 10-9 Starling.
Round four: Quick close-range exchanges. Sigala having a better round so far. Right hands still connecting for Starling. Halfway through. Big combo by Starling. 1-2 connects. Good jab. 10-9 Starling.
Round five: Sigala lands a right, eats a combo in return. Left hook by Starling on the break. Starling right hand. Three-piece lands a minute in. Another combo behind it. Sigala’s combos aren’t there this round. There’s another right by Starling, eats one in return. Starling forces her back to the ropes for a final exchange. 10-9 Starling.
Final result: Starling def. Sigala by unanimous decision
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