For the first time since 1889, bare-knuckle boxing, or boxing without gloves, is returning to the United States. A new organization known as the Bare Knuckle Fighting Champions (BKFC) is promoting the first, legal, bare-knuckle boxing bouts in the States in 129 years. They will happen on June 2 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at an event that will feature a number of recognizable names, including UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez, former Bellator heavyweight Eric Prindle, and former boxer Paul Spadafora. It will also include what BKFC has dubbed the “first-ever” sanctioned, women’s bare-knuckle match, though the claim is impossible to verify. Former UFC strawweight-turned-flyweight Bec Rawlings will take on boxer Alma Garcia.
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