Bare-knuckle fans can Revel in the sport on Jan. 27
Dec. 22—As previously reported, the third installment of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship's new Prospect Series is to be staged in Albuquerque on Jan. 27.
As not previously reported, BKFC Prospect Series 3 will be staged at Revel Entertainment Center — not Expo New Mexico's Manuel Lujan Exhibition Hall as previously announced.
The BKFC also announced on Friday that Albuquerque combat-sports veteran Donald Sanchez (1-1 bare knuckle) is scheduled to face Florida's Noah Cutter (3-6) in the Jan. 27 main event.
Also scheduled is Albuquerque's Eric Dodson (2-1), matched against Dakota Highpine (1-2) of Great Falls, Montana.
The BKFC inaugurated the Prospect Series on Aug. 24 in Miami, then took it across the pond to Liverpool, England for Prospect Series 2 on Oct. 14.
Sanchez, a 39-year-old veteran of the cage (30-20 MMA) and the ring (5-3 as a pro boxer), lost his bare-knuckle debut in August 2022 during the BKFC's first New Mexico card at the Rio Rancho Events Center. A year later, he evened his BKFC record with a highly entertaining unanimous-decision victory over Blake LaCaze at Tingley Coliseum.
Dodson, the younger brother of Albuquerque combat-sports star John Dodson, scored victories by knockout during the first two New Mexico BKFC cards. On Aug. 11 at Tingley, he lost by unanimous decision to Robert Armas.
BKFC President David Feldman, in cooperation with Albuquerque promoter Teresa Tapia, had hoped to include some amateur fights on the Jan. 27 card. But the New Mexico Athletic Commission's rules for amateur bare-knuckle fighting, once approved, cannot become enforceable until Jan. 30.
Feldman made the decision nevertheless to bring an-all pro show to Albuquerque, which has proved to be a bare-knuckle hotbed. The BKFC cards at Tingley in February 2022 and August 2023 drew a combined announced attendance of 14,275, the shows ranking 1-2 in the organization's five-year, 73-event history.
Those attendance records won't be broken at Revel, which seats approximately 3,000 for concerts and perhaps fewer for combat sports. Tickets ($65-$250) are on sale at BKFC.com.
BIG BROTHER IN JAPAN: John Dodson, 3-0 in BKFC competition and that organization's BKFC flyweight champion, is scheduled for a return to MMA competition in Saitama, Japan on Dec. 30 in the U.S. — New Year's Eve day in Saitama.
Dodson (24-13 MMA) is matched against Japan's Hiromaga Ougikubo (25-8-1) on Rizin 45.
Rizin stages its fights in a ring, not a cage, with rules that differ in some respects from those of the UFC and other U.S. promotions. Dodson is no stranger to Rizin, with two victories in Japan within the past year.
Rizin 45 is scheduled to be streamed at FITE.tv (Trilller) at a price of $19.95.
