This June, the state of Wyoming will put on the first state-sanctioned, bare-knuckle boxing event in American history in over 130 years.
According to MMA Fighting, the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship will be holding an event in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on June 2.
“It truly is the first legal, sanctioned bare-knuckle fighting event in the United States since 1889,” Bare Knuckle’s promoter, Dave Feldman, told MMA Fighting.
Fighters in Bare Knuckle will only wear hand wraps that stop an inch before the knuckles. Punching is the only form of striking allowed, but unlike regular boxing, there will be more leeway for athletes to fight in the clinch.
Bare Knuckle is not going to be a human cockfighting promotion, either. Like other combat sports, there will be weight classes and rulesets.
Feldman argues that Bare Knuckle is safer for fighters:
It’s not just a great idea, it’s safer for the fighters. One of those athletic commissions has to believe in the facts.
Wyoming Combat Sports Commission Chairman Bryan Pedersen agrees.
We already regulate sanction MMA and kickboxing. And in both of those you can receive a knee to the head, a shin kick to the head and an elbow to the head. That’s all heavy, heavy blunt-force trauma. So hand striking scores far lower than that. I think you’ll see far less concussive blows to fighters and that’ll protect everybody.
Bare Knuckle will feature fighters from various different martial arts. Former UFC fighters Ricco Rodriguez, DJ Linderman, Joe Riggs, and Johnny Bedford will be fighting. Kickboxer Maurice Jackson will also be on the card.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship we be available on bareknuckle.tv for $29.99. You can also watch the event in person for $50.00 or more.
