Fresh off one of the biggest events in company history, Bare Knuckle FC returns to action on March 19 for a fight card headlined with a competitor well-remembered for all-action brawls during his MMA career.

Leonard Garcia will meet Joe Elmore in the lightweight main event of the evening’s card, which will take place at the Biloxi Civic Center in Mississippi.

During a six-year run in the WEC and UFC, the former WEC featherweight title challenger won six “Fight of the Night” bonuses and one “Knockout of the Night,” including a split-decision victory over Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48 which is regularly name-checked among the greatest fights in MMA history.

Garcia made his BKFC debut in February 2019 and earned a second-round finish of Julian Lane, then lost to Jim Alers in a bout six months later. His opponent, Elmore, is a regional MMA vet with a knockout win over Jerrid Burke at Bellator 88 in his sole major-league appearance. He’s 2-0 in BKFC.

The co-feature bout for the pay-per-view event is a bantamweight matchup between 46-year-old former WBO junior welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley and BKFC mainstay Reggie Barnett Jr.

“Leonard Garcia against Joe Elmore is a true bad-blood match and perfect for our main event,” BKFC president David Feldman said. “Both guys have wanted to fight each other for a long time and both have promised to finish the other in striking fashion. DeMarcus Corley is a former world champion boxer who has fought numerous big names over the last twenty years and surely will be tested by Reggie Barnett Jr. who is excited to welcome him to BKFC.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/bare-knuckle-fc-announces-next-event-on-march-19

We know what we were getting into when we became fight fans: There’s the thrill and the rush and the exhilaration of following an exciting fight.

And then there are the bumps and bruises that are the results of a solid scrap: The bone breaks and the bloodshed and the hematomas. They happen to real people who have to live with them, not video game characters.

Even though we know all this, since the fighters fight their fights and then tend to vanish from our television sets until we see them compete again, we sometimes forget what the aftermath looks like.

And that’s why, even though we know the damage that gets done, sometimes we’re still shocked when we see behind-the-scenes footage following MMA fights.

Which brings us to Brian Kelleher. An undeniably tough competitor, the Long Islander didn’t see things go his way Saturday night at UFC 258. He hung in there and went the distance during a unanimous decision loss, but found himself with wounds that needed tending afterwards.

Tuesday, Kelleher gave us a graphic look at the damage — and straight into his skull — over Twitter:

Scar too deep for a bandaid solution pic.twitter.com/IFsCqav2L3

— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) February 16, 2021

At least Kelleher has a sense of humor about the situation. We’ll no doubt see Kelleher back looking good as new soon enough, but in the meantime, this is a good reminder what fighters endure for our entertainment.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ouch-brian-kelleher-shares-gruesome-pic-of-ufc-258-cut

The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.

Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.

Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.

To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, non-titleholders can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/usa-today-sports-mma-junkie-rankings-feb-16-kamaru-usman-keeps-climbing

UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve on Monday announced his retirement. It’s the second time he’s done so, but this time he insists it is for good.

“I was contacted by the UFC last week for a fight. However, I’ve decided it’s time to retire from fighting.”

At one time streaking toward a heavyweight title shot, Struve has been struggling with health issues for the majority of his UFC tenure.

In 2013, doctors discovered that Struve was suffering from a leaking aortic valve and enlarged heart. He was able to manage the condition and return to fighting, but has struggled to find continued success in the Octagon.

Struve briefly retired in early 2019, following a Performance of the Night victory over Marcos Rogerio de Lima. He later admitted that he wasn’t ready to retire and fought twice more, losing to Ben Rothwell and Tai Tuivasa.

Health issues continue to plague Stefan Struve

Now, dealing with an inner ear issue, Struve has taken his time to think things through, ultimately deciding to call it quits.

“I was able to take my space and time the last couple of months to overthink this, so this time it really is for good,” he wrote on Instagram.

“At this juncture, I realize that it’s time to hang up the gloves for good, and my put my health and family first.”

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Stefan Struve’s retirement statement

“I was able to take my space and time the last couple of months to overthink this, so this time it really is for good. I’ve had an inner ear issue I’ve been battling since May last year. I caught a viral infection that has damaged my vestibular system and the hearing nerve in my right ear. After new tests done recently, we learned that the vestibular system is not working properly, the first conclusion in May was that it was most likely BPPV [benign paroxysmal positional vertigo]. 

“Because of this I have also been dealing with vertigo issues, and also loss of hearing and tinnitus, a ringing noise in my ear. After I caught it in May things got a lot better, after a couple rough weeks at first. I was doing good although still experiencing some vertigo and other minor issues but my idea was, especially with the doctors telling me the issues would go away after a while, to just keep going and ignore it until it really was gone completely. Unfortunately during [my most recent] fight some of the issues came back after getting hit flush on the right ear, it was a punch that should not be an issue normally. 

“After that fight I was having more issues again and the doctors scheduled new tests. Those, unfortunately for me, took a long time to happen because of the lockdown over here in the Netherlands. After these tests, I was told the damage in the ear and the vestibular issues caused by the viral infection I’d been dealing with are most likely permanent. I have no big issues when I’m just doing my everyday things and/or training on a normal level to be healthy and in shape. 

“The extreme intensity I have put my body through in training camp to get ready for fights I can’t do anymore. At this juncture, I realize that it’s time to hang up the gloves for good, and my put my health and family first. I’ve had a long career and battled through multiple injuries, including a broken jaw and my heart condition. Pushing forward and training hard without listening to my body would be asking for real trouble in my opinion.”

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UFC 258: Kamaru Usman vs Gilbert Burns Highlights Recap

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-heavyweight-stefan-struve-announces-retirement

The top end of the UFC’s heavyweight division is getting crowded. Current champion Stipe Miocic is set to face Francis Ngannou in the coming months, Jon Jones is already jumping to queue to fight the winner, and this weekend’s fight card features No. 2 ranked Curtis Blaydes vs. No. 4 ranked Derrick Lewis.

That’s not to mention No. 5 ranked Alexander Volkov’s recent win over Alistair Overeem, and No. 3 ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik expected to face No. 7 ranked Cyril Gane later this month.

With Blaydes vs. Lewis headlining this weekend’s UFC Vegas 19, Dan Hardy stepped into the War Room to break down the fight and discuss the heavyweight division.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/curtis-blaydes-vs-derrick-lewis-war-room-preview