Ben Rothwell is set to challenge for a second championship belt as Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) makes its inaugural trip to Australia.
The promotion recently announced that its debut event in Australia, scheduled for July 18, will feature Rothwell taking on Alex Simon in the main event. The bout will be for the brand new BKFC super heavyweight title. Rothwell, a veteran fighter with a 37-14 record in mixed martial arts, captured the vacant BKFC heavyweight title this past January with a swift 36-second knockout victory over Mick Terrill.
Alex Simon will make his bare-knuckle fighting debut with a chance to immediately claim gold in his home country. Simon is primarily known for his background as a powerlifting competitor and has engaged in combat sports only sporadically since 2018. His record includes one win and one loss in MMA, and he last competed in boxing in August 2023, suffering a TKO loss (retirement) in the fifth round against Bryce Jones.
In the co-feature bout, Australian favorite Bec Rawlings will face Jade Masson-Wong in a flyweight contest. Rawlings, a seasoned veteran of MMA, recently ended a three-fight skid inside the BKFC ring by earning a unanimous decision win over Taylor Starling in January. Her opponent, Masson-Wong, holds a BKFC record of 3 wins and 2 losses and is looking to rebound from a split decision defeat to Christine Ferea.
The event, officially designated as BKFC 79, is scheduled to take place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on July 18.
Marcus Blakely