ArnolBKFC 7: Alers vs Garcia goes on Saturday, August 10th. The event is broadcast free on FITE TV and Youtube. The card emanates from Mississippi Coast Coliseum and kicks off at 9 PM ET. BKFC 7 is littered with fantastic tilts including the 155 lb title eliminator Garcia vs Alers in the main event. There’s a lot more fun even beyond Leonard Garcia and Jim Alers. Chase Sherman vies for Arnold Adams’ BKFC heavyweight title, Isaac Vallie Flagg takes on Melvin Guillard, a featherweight tournament bout takes place, and local favorites bolster the undercard. Check out the full BKFC 7 breakdown below!
Bowks Talking Bouts
ArnolBKFC 7: Alers vs Garcia goes on Saturday, August 10th. The event is broadcast free on FITE TV and Youtube. The card emanates from Mississippi Coast Coliseum and kicks off at 9 PM ET. BKFC 7 is littered with fantastic tilts including the 155 lb title eliminator Garcia vs Alers in the main event. There’s a lot more fun even beyond Leonard Garcia and Jim Alers. Chase Sherman vies for Arnold Adams’ BKFC heavyweight title, Isaac Vallie Flagg takes on Melvin Guillard, a featherweight tournament bout takes place, and local favorites bolster the undercard. Check out the full BKFC 7 breakdown below!
Bowks Talking Bouts
Sherman has gone through his own host of issues lately albeit more physically. Sherman had a tumultuous situation occur prior to his BKFC debut. Discussing the Shewmaker fight, Sherman said “Some judges were scoring it like it what was boxing. Some judges were scoring it like it was an actual fight. Right before, two weeks before that I had an allergic reaction to a supplement I was taking and it shut down my liver. and I was in the ISU in a sedated coma. I was in the hospital for like 3 days. The fact I almost died and then three weeks later I was fighting a bare-knuckle fight against a former contender made a statement about my character.”
Both men seem to have a level of mutual respect for each other’s abilities heading into the bout. Adams said, “Chase has 13 wins, 12 of them by knockout. He made it to the UFC. So you can’t take nothing from him. But at the same time, this is not MMA. It’s bare-knuckle boxing”. Sherman stated, “He’s the champ for a reason but I feel like I’m a world-class fighter, bro. I’ve fought the best int he world. I’m ranked number 40 in the world in MMA. I feel like I’m a different athlete and a different breed of fighter. He’s good, he’s got tools in the bag, but he’s 7-10 as an MMA fighter for a reason.”
Adams pieced up DJ Linderman and Joey Beltran prior to beating Sam Shewmaker for the BKFC title. Arnold Adams went from a sub 500 MMA fighter to being a world champion and hall of famer in BKB. Adams said, “I transitioned well because I’ve been trying to get into the boxing world for the past five years. A traditional boxer will not come to bare-knuckle because of the fear and the brutality behind the sport.” Arnold continued, “If you can learn from your mistakes and learn as you go, you’ll be fine. I know what I’m bringing to the table, I know what I’m capable of, and I know I’m not here to lose”
Sherman is cognizant of the historical significance of this bout both location wise and with the lineage of what he’s competing for. Sherman said, “That Police Gazzette belt and the history behind it. That belt has a really close tie to Mississippi and I want to bring that belt home to where it belongs. I think it was 130 years ago, that belt was fought for down here on the coast where I’m from.”
Arnold Adams has an inspiring story of how he got here. Adams’ back was against the wall prior to his bare-knuckle debut and he had a huge decision to make. Adams said, “My light bill was due at the time of the tryouts. I had to make a decision. Sure enough, I didn’t pay the light bill. I bought a one-way ticket to Philly, slept in the airport that night, took the bus and train to the tryouts, gave it my all, and got a call back a little less than a year later.”
Despite this great story, Adams feels like he could have his profile bolstered a bit more by BKFC. Arnold stated, “I’m not promoted. That irks the hell out of me. That really irritates me. It gets under my skin. You go to the bare-knuckle page you’ll see Chase Sherman is fighting Arnold Adams but it’s a video of Chase Sherman.” That being said the BKFC champion’s confidence permeated through when it came to talking about his squared circle abilities. Adams said, “I’m the man in this sport. Anybody that crosses into my lane, they get smoked. So at this point in time, the legacy thing is big for me. I’m in the hall of fame for beating people up.”
Main event title eliminator
Alers vs Garcia is the top of the marquee fight at BKFC 7. Garcia has momentum heading into this after his BKFC debut. Garcia said, “Julian definitely he came out there and showed ha he does have punching power. 155 or 145 is my home. It was definitely a great performance. I took some shots in there that I shouldn’t have taken. But it worked out really well, I showed my versatility, and I showed what it’s like to be a champion”
Leonard Garcia feels in a good place on all levels. Leonard said, “Right now I think I’m set up pretty well. I think if I play my cards right I can negotiate a good deal for myself. If I can put myself in a title situation in my last fight, that makes things a lot better for me. Of course, Dave Feldman is a very smart man so I think he can see where I’ m heading with this.”
Garcia was initially supposed to fight Jason Knight but an injury took Knight off the BKFC 7 card. Garcia is not overlooking Alers but a 155lb title and a Lobov fight are possibly on the horizon with a win here. The dialogue for all of that can happen once this fight is over though. Garcia said, “You’re focused on a person. You’re thinking about that person and then a short notice guy comes in. At this moment in bare-knuckle, there’s not a lot of stuff that you can really change. What I’ve sene out of Jim is that he’s an aggressive guy and likes to maul guys. That plays right into my wheelhouse.”
Artem Lobov could rematch Knight or fight the Alers vs Garcia winner. There’s a lot of options for the future of BKFC’s 155 lb ranks. Garcia has done a lot of watching Lobov and Knight on the BKFC circuit. He is eager for either bout. Garcia said, “All I know is Artem is 2-0, I’m looking to go 2-0, and that would be the smartest fight for me”
Other BKFC 7 features
Melvin Guillard vs Isaac Vallie Flagg promises to be a barnburner between two proven veterans at BKFC 7. David Feldman is excited to see these two former UFC veterans go at it bare-knuckle. Feldman said, “I’m expecting big things from Melvin. Isaac Vallie Flagg, on the other hand, is as tough as they come.”
There are also multiple promising local competitors. Some fighters to bolster the live gate, get a raucous crowd going, and international audiences can be exposed to potential future stars. Feldman said, “That’s how we have to do it. We have to get some of these bigger names in here just to get name recognition. Attraction to our company and the sport itself. And when while they’re watching it, that’s when we develop the new talent on the same show.”
The future of BKFC
The future of BKFC could lie in Toronto, Ontario. With changes in combat sports laws on the horizon, BKB could become a regulated entity where evens are ongoing in my home province. Feldman said, “I want to come to Toronto bad I think we have a hell of a market up there. It’s going to take a little more time for Canada but we’re definitely pushing that”. BKFC also has plans to go to the Middle East and expand overseas.
The looming presence of Aleksander Emelianenko is also on BKFC fan’s minds. There’s been some dialogue with him potential signing but Feldman wants to do a lot of proper medical testing and see if Emelianenkp ahs visa issues. There are still multiple issues to iron out but there seems to be some interest in Aleksander competing in BKB. Feldman said, “He has his own legal issues. So he has to get them cleared before we even entertain anything. We’ll see what happens here in probably the next couple of weeks.” The desire to have Cris Cyborg in BKFC is also something Feldman articulated. BKFC is going for anybody and everybody.
Aleksander also has an attachment to the heavyweight title fight. Emelianenko could very well contend for that title right out of the gate and that intrigues Arnold Adams. Adams said, “He’s the brother of Fedor. I was Frank Mir’s training partner when he fought Fedor. When he lost that fight, it hurt me. So this is kind of like some get back. I feel like this is a personal fight for me.”
Adams continued, “He’s a sambo guy. He’s a solid grappler. He’s not a striker. I saw a fight he got knocked out something vicious. So his name carries weight because of his sambo and grappling and police record and who he’s a brother to. No one can see me in the stand-up department. To this day, I still haven’t had a professional training camp. It’s mainly me and I reach out to who I need to”
Another goal for BKFC heading into the new year is to increase its broadcast opportunities. Feldman said, “I mean really we’re talking to a few networks and that’s our biggest thing to get a TV deal. Definitely want a TV deal and I think that’s going to happen towards the beginning or middle of 2020.”
BKFC 7 is a free event on the heels of the biggest event the promotion has done with Malignaggi vs Lobov. When I asked Feldman the reasoning for having a free card after the monumental last event, he said “It’s that we need to gain more fans. Why not take a little bit of that money and dump it into a free show? Why not give back to the fans?”
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