BKFC 9 goes on Saturday, November 16th at Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center in Biloxi, MS. The event is headlined by the biggest bare-knuckle boxing rematch in the last century when Artem Lobov and Jason Knight run it back. The event also features a heavyweight title scrap between defending champion Chase Sherman and contender Joey Beltran. Multi-belt titlist Johnny Bedford also is stepping up in weight to take on “Felony” Charles Bennett in a non-title affair. Promotional figurehead David Feldman is stoked for this one and the sentiment is shared from BKFC fans worldwide. Check the official website for more BKFC information and scroll below for quotes from Feldman, Knight, Bedford, Sherman, and Beltran ahead of BKFC 9.
David Feldman
“It really got talking immediately afterward but there were other things that we needed to do. I think that we accomplished that by doing the Paulie Malignaggi fight. Brought a lot of the Boxing fans in. Just got everybody really excited about what we were doing. Then Artem was able to put on a tremendous fight there and win a controversial split decision over Paulie Malignaggi. Artem want this fight back. You almost can’t go wrong with it. I just don’t see either one of these guys styles able to be in a bad fight.”
“It’s here. It’s ready to happen. Why not let it happen? I think we made a great decision here and I think a lot of eyes are going to be on this fight November 16th”
Sherman vs Beltran
“He has the style and the character to be a champion with our organization for a long time. Joey Beltran doesn’t know how to take a backward step. You’ve got two guys that just move forward. There was other guys we could have brought in from some outside organizations. That being said, I don’t think it’s fair just to bring somebody else in and fight for the championship. It has to be someone who has climbed up the ladder a little bit.”
BKFC 9
“You have such a rich heritage of bare-knuckle fighting. Bareknuckle boxing that happened in the Mississippi literally only three miles away from where we’re doing this fight at the coliseum. To have a guy like Chase Sherman who is now a firefighter, he’s a former UFC fighter, and he’s coming to fight. He’s a Mississippi native to be able to hold that championship. Now defending it in his hometown, I think it’s really really special.”
“I’ll be honest with you I had my doubts about putting Charles Bennett back in here. But after talking to him for a long time and understanding that he came into that fight with….a really bad staph infection in his hand. I told Johnny that I’d keep him busy before the end of the year. I think it’s going to be a good test for Johnny. With our organization, not everything really needs to make sense to everybody. What we’re really trying to do in each and every fight is putting on great fights. What we’re trying to do is give fans the best price we can possibly give them.”
BKFC 9
Gonzaga as the next challenger for the heavyweight title
“He could be. Gabriel Gonzaga, if you know him, he doesn’t talk too much. For him to send me the message he sent me last week was really special. hanking me and telling me how much he wants to make this sport grow.”
Wanderlei and Lombard in BKFC for February 2020
“Hector will definitely be fighting on our first card in February. We’re working on something really special right now to do around the Super Bowl. We’re going to announce all that probably in about three weeks’ time.”
Peralta fight….
“This one’s outside of her weight division. So they’re actually fighting at a catchweight of 120. It’s a fight that she wanted. She stepped up and it’s outside the tournament but she’ll jump back in early next year. Will hopefully be in the finals of that featherweight tournament. We’ll have the finals sometime in March or April.”
“We plan on bringing more of the same into 2020 and a lot bigger and better things. Really we’ve just begun. There’s so much more to see about BKFC in 2020.”
Jason Knight
“It’s been great. I’m twice as good as I was last time. Twice as much cardio and twice as much skill.”
“I was recovered probably a couple of weeks or a month after the Leonard Garcia fight was supposed to take place. I was ready to get right back to work. No injuries, nothing nagging me or anything like that. Just cardio and skill mixed in.”
“I would like it to. I’m welcome to that. I think that especially if I beat Artem, I’m going to be a little bit above Leonard. I’ve probably got Jim Alers coming up next or Johnny Bedford.One of them two. I feel like Leonard Garcia will kind of be a step back. But at the same time I’m willing to fight whoever they put in front of me….It would actually be something I’d really like to do. I grew up watching Leonard Garci and he used to be awesome. He used to be pretty badass but now I think that he’s a little bit past his prime, honestly. But still a fight I’d be glad to make.”
“In the first fight, I underestimated him. I thought he was just going to be a walk in the park. Thought that maybe I would knock him out and he wouldn’t be able to take as much as I can take. Now that I know exactly what I’m looking at, I know he’s a tough son of a gun. He’s not going to be easy to get out of there….I’m going to make sure that I keep my head in pace and fight with skill. Not just toughness and heart and grit. I made a lot of mistakes in that last fight.”
BKFC 9
“I respect Artem. He respects me. We’re bros….He doesn’t think that he’s going to put me away. I don’t think that I’m going to put him away….There’s really no need for all the trash talk……When the gloves come off, we get in that ring and it’s time to go that’s what’s going to happen. We’re both going tear it up. We’re going to fight like we’re enemies until it’s over.”
“That clinch game. That’s something that we’ve been dealing with for years. I’ve been working the clinch since I was 14, 15 years old. Then you get me in there with a boxer who never worked a clinch. Who always gets separated as soon as it goes to a clinch.”
Diaz vs Masvidal stoppage…….
“I was upset. You had a phenomenal card. Like one of the best cards that you’ve had in years. Then all of a sudden a doctor just ruins it…Of course, it was a bad cut but it was not going to affect Nate Diaz. He doesn’t really turn it on until the fourth or fifth round.”
BKB Hall of Fame Lobo vs Knight I is a Historical Fight of Significance…..
“It’s awesome. I’ve always wanted that kind of a war…..Neither one of us gave up. Neither one of us quit. Just that alone was amazing. The fact that they saw fit to put it into the hall of fame. That’s awesome. I think that speaks volumes for me and for Artem.”
Chase Sherman
“I always tell people this. All I care about is winning, man. Every fight is just as important to me you know? If there’s a title on the line or not, a win’s a win and a loss is a loss. My job’s to go out there and get the W. The fact I get to go home with the belt is just a little something extra.”
“I’m just trying to stay humble really and focus on what I gotta do. In the great scheme of things in everything I want to accomplish, this is just something minute. I’m not where I want to be just yet. These are just the small steps I have to take in order to be considered one of the best fighters to ever compete in combat sports.”
“I’m excited. I think it’ll be a fun fight. Get to finally fight somebody that I’m hoping will want to put on a show and not be real tentative. Those are the kind of fights that I enjoy. Those are the fights that if you consider yourself a real fighter you look forward to.”
BKFC 9
Arnold Adams win…..
“I was really pleased with that fight, to be honest with you. Felt better than I’ve ever felt in any fight. I think a lot of things were clicking and a lot of things were coming together. Obviously, he was still a defensive fighter in that fight but I felt like I put on a pretty good show and I was pushing the pace. I felt like it was pretty one-sided to be honest with you.”
“We finally started shift work and I’m at the academy more. Now I’m actually at the station….We train every day. Whether it’s lifting weights, running, firefighter training in gear. Any kind of cardio or strength and conditioning, we do it every day anyway. It’s just a brotherhood there really. If I succeed then they succeed. They’re apart of that as well because it’s a team and I’ve been included in that.”
“The last time I fought for the belt, we were the co-main event as well. The damn headliner wasn’t even guys that were local. I’m from here but I’m the co-main event. At the same token, Jason’s my teammate and I wish him nothing but the best success. And I realize that Lobov fight he had with him last time was kind of what set the platform for this sport and kind of built it. Now mine and Joey’s job is going to be like ‘hey, we can put on a fuckin’ show as well’. So we’ll see what happens.”
Joey Beltran
“Long story short we are fighting on the same show. Which has brought its own set of challenges, if you will, dealing with that. We’re both doing well. We’re both pros. A lot of it is just kind of staying out of each other’s way and finding pleasure in the quiet moments. As far as like training, she has her own deal and I have my own deal. It should be pretty fun.”
“I try not to put too much as far as thinking into it. It’s just another fight. Five two minute round fight with Chase Sherman. Making sure that I’m absolutely one hundred percent ready to handle that. But when I do sit and think about it….It’s a big fucking deal.”
“Chase Sherman is a big strong heavyweight. Very athletic. I’ve fought big strong athletic heavyweights my whole career. It’s not anything spectacular. I’m just focused on making a total monster out of myself so when I go int here I’m going to be problems or everybody. I’m just on a whole different mindset right now.”
“Promoters do weird things and everybody has their own narrative that they want to pitch. If I’m not part of it, I’m not going to sit around and mope about it. I’m a prizefighter. I go where the money’s at. If that money’s in Russia, if that money’s in Bellator, I just want to make sure I’m ready.”
BKFC 9
“I think me and Chase are both a little salty that the heavyweight title is not the main event. The main event is Artem and Jason Knight. Don’t get me wrong that was a phenomenal fight the first time around. But take it from somebody who had his own blood bath battle with Tony Lopez, there’s no guarantee the second one’s gonna be like that. It’s a gamble. Those people have to be willing to lay it all on the line. The fact that Jason Knight’s already saying he’s going to show his skills that kind of leads me to believe he might be…..Everybody says they want that type of fight until they go through that type of fight…..We’ll see what happens. In a perfect world, they’ll have a blood bath part two and everyone’s happy.”
“I remember when I was first pitched the idea of bareknuckle boxing….They told me you can clinch. This fuckin’ sport was made for me.”
BKB hall of fame recognized Beltran’s fight with Tony Lopez as a historical fight of significance
“That’s definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever accomplished in my career for sure. To be part of a hall of fame especially one as prestigious as the bare-knuckle hall of fame. That’s the original hand to hand combat sport. I can’t really properly describe how it makes me feel but defintiely a huge sense of pride being in there.”
Johnny Bedford
“I have two belts in my possession at this time. Two belts that I think are going to be in my possession for a long time. Bare-knuckle fighting came at a really cool time. I think I’m kind of made for this sport. Bareknuckle 1 happened in June of 2018 and I wanted to be a part of it. I talked the bossman into making a tournament for our weight class and over a year and a half later, here I am. World champ. Making my fifth appearance now.”
“It’s amazing. I’m thankful of it obviously. I know more about the Police Gazette belt now than I probably ever would have. It’s a true honor. That was the true world championship 130 years ago. Not only do I get to win the world title for the promotion but I got to now put my name in the history books forever.”
“I think it’s just because there’s more of us right now. I don’t believe that MMA fighters are necessarily better yet. We just have more MMA guys coming into the sport. I think we’re just a little crazier. Not that Boxers….Obviously they’re athletes. They’re maniacs. They’re tough guys too. I just feel like MMA guys are behind it more now. The smaller gloves that we’re used to, the being able to grab and punch that we’re used to. Obviously that plays into it. Boxers have been told you can’t grab my head and punch me for their whole lives. Where we’ve been doing that our whole lives.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for. This fight game has been weird because a lot of the media that I’ve seen has been counting him out. You want to use some certain things for motivation and I’m the one taking the risk here. I’m the one moving up a weight class. I’m the one giving him the chance to make his name relevant again. I was adamant about staying busy. He’s supposed to be a banger. High octane and wants to come forward. I hope he wants to do that.”
BKFC 9
Bennett blocked him on social media……
“I think I’d crush him verbally before the fight even started. I’m way smarter than him. Rumour has it it’s because I called him Krazy Horse and apparently he doesn’t like that name anymore. That’s who he is to me and that’s who he’s going to be all week when we get to Biloxi. I don’t know who this Felony guy is. I don’t think Felony has won a fight. He should probably go back to Krazy Horse. I think it’s a chicken shit move. I would never block someone.”
Arem Lobov fight….
“I knew the situation I was going to be in after I won a title, this sport’s new and there’s not a roster of guys fighting. Developing a number one contender. I’m 36, I’m really good at this. I want to keep collecting cheques and I want to stay busy. So I already knew that I was going to have to go to 145. Obviously going to 145 I want to chase the money fight. That’s Artem Lobov. He gets the most eyeballs. You would get paid the most of anyone else on the roster right now. I’m 4-0. I’m the only guy in the promotion who can say that. Here I am going up to get a win in his division now.”
BKFC 9
Big BKFC fight card for February 2020…
“I want to fight at BKFC 10. Would love to. I fought at 1, 3, 5, and 6. The good news is for me I have the ability to now stay really active. I’m chasing the money fight at 145 but I’m not going to not defend my belt at 135. There’s guys on social media that are barking saying they’re the number one contender. Well line ’em up. 2020 I’ll defend my belt. I’ve got kids to put through college is the real truth. Bareknuckle Fighting Championship is giving me a resurgence in my career. It’s now allowing me to put money away to do things like that.”
“It just hasn’t worked out that my son has been with me while I fight. I coach at a prey high level. I’ve got a really great MMA team. I’m very busy actively coaching. Because of that, my son obviously has the ability to go with me and do those things. I wouldn’t be against it. I’m not afraid of my kids watching me bare-knuckle fight. My son has been in my corner for MMA fights before. I’ve bled on him. He gets it.
“If you’re not on the BKFC bandwagon, there’s still room. Jump on now. This sport’s the next big thing. David Feldman’s done a great job. I mean he has busted his ass just to get this thing legal. Here we are, eighteen months later maybe less, and we’re nine events in on pay per view. We’re making waves.”
Bowks Talking Bouts
For more bare-knuckle boxing LM2 coverage, check out the links provided:
