Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship visits Manchester for the second time, this coming Saturday, 27 September.
The legendary AO Arena, where recently departed British boxing legend Ricky Hatton thrilled fans, hosts BKFC 81. The event streams live on DAZN, starting at 7pm UK time (2pm EST).
Boxing Champion James Degale Debuts at BKFC 81
The BKFC 81 main event matches two professional boxers making their bare knuckle debuts. Former world champion and GB Olympian James “Chunky” DeGale faces Matty Floyd.
Degale is a two-time super middleweight champion who faced the likes of Andre Direll, Lucien Bute, Badou Jack, George Groves and Chris Eubank during an accomplished career. The 39-year-old won 25 of 29 pro bouts before hanging up the gloves in 2019. A native of West London, Degale’s signing was announced during the BKFC Summit in Florida this past summer.
Floyd, fighting out of Perth in Western Australia, has won 15 of 17 pro boxing bouts. He’s well-traveled, fighting in Australia, Thailand, Turkiye and Indonesia. It’s a huge opportunity for the Australian-a win over Degale would bring Floyd huge recognition and could fast-track him towards a title opportunity.
Reality Stars Chalmers and Fincham to Battle at BKFC 81
In the co-main event, combat sports veteran Aaron Chalmers (1-0) looks for his second BKFC win versus Jack Fincham. It’s a battle of reality show stars turned bare knucklers.
Chalmers has competed in professional MMA, influencer boxing, pro boxing, and also bare knuckle. The former Geordie Shore star won his BKFC debut this past April in impressive fashion. Chalmers stopped bare knuckle and boxing veteran Chas Symonds in three rounds.
Fincham was a contestant on the fourth season of the popular reality series Love Island. He’s competed in amateur boxing and also influencer boxing, where he drew with former Jake Paul sparring partner Anthony Taylor.
It’s an anticipated matchup. Can Fincham get past the solid Chalmers in his bare knuckle debut? Or will Chalmers put on another clinic and remain undefeated?
Jonny Graham vs Navid Mansouri
Sometimes a fighter’s reputation grows in defeat.
That’s what happened to Jonny Graham (2-1).
After stopping veteran Will Cairns and Abel Radomski in his first two bouts, Graham was matched with Connor Tierney for the then-vacant BKFC UK Middleweight Title.
Graham gave a good account of himself, but lost a unanimous decision to the talented Tierney. He returns 13 months later against Mansouri.
Mansouri is a veteran of 28 pro boxing matches. In his first BKFC start, Mansouri knocked out Ruslan Tokhtarov with a devastating right hand last April.
The Polish are Coming: Oscar, Krol, Chylinski
Three well-known Polish bare knucklers based in the U.K. compete at BKFC 81 in separate bouts.
Former title challenger David Oscar (5-2, 4 KOs) faces Chad Dickinson (1-1). Oscar knocked out Stanoi Tabakov in March in his first fight since losing a heavyweight shootout to BKFC UK champion Agi Faulkner last year.
Dickinson (1-1) broke a seven-year bare knuckle hiatus with a stoppage over Rowan Gregory in February. He lost his debut to current BKB champion Marko Martinjak way back in 2018.
Bart Krol (5-1, 2 KOs) takes on Bulgaria’s Jon Telfer (0-0). Krol has won two consecutive bouts since a TKO defeat to Pic Jardine.
The brawling Chylinski (4-2, 3 KOs) meets Dec Spelman (1-0). Chylinski looks for his second straight win after back-to-back stoppage losses to current UK champion Karl Thompson and Gaz Corran.
Spelman outpointed Tomas Lejsek at the last Manchester card in March. He came to bare knuckle after 25 pro gloved boxing matches, where Spelman faced light heavyweight contenders Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur.
Jonno Chipchase Looks to Bounce Back
Jonno Chipchase is also in action. The former BKFC UK featherweight title challenger looks to rebound from his first defeat.
Chipchase faced Gary Fox this past March in the BKFC Manchester main event. Fox outboxed Chipchase before the fight was stopped on cuts after the first round. Heading into the bout, Chipchase had won three straight bouts by first-round knockout.
Chipchase (3-1, 3 KOs) returns against Lewis Garside (1-0). Garside defeated Bartek Kanabey by decision in his promotional debut in February.
BKFC 81: How to Watch
BKFC 81 streams exclusively on DAZN starting at 7pm Saturday evening in the UK.
For the full fight card, visit the BKFC website.
Photo Credit: BKFC
