VanZant to headline first ever ‘Knucklemania’

Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant will headline BKFC’s first ever ‘Knucklemania’.

Recently it was announced that Paige VanZant will maker her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships debut opposite boxing and BKFC vet Britain Hart.

And now BKFC has announced that her debut show, currently slated for February 5 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland FL, will be named ‘Knucklmania’.

The show, which takes place over Super Bowl weekend, will be available on pay-per-view for $29.99. The show will also be carried on FITE.TV.

According to MMA Fighting the co-main event for Knucklemania is expected to be a BKFC lightweight world championship bout featuring champion Johnny Bedford and challenger Dat Nguyen.

Bedford was a cast member on 2011’s The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. He was eliminated from that competition by John Dodson.

Bedford started his pro UFC career with wins over Louis Gaudinot and Marcos Vinicius. He then lost to Brian Caraway, Cody Gibson and Rani Yahya before leaving the promotion.

In 2019 Bedford won BKFC’s lightweight tournament. That year, at BKFC 14, he also defeated Charles ‘Krazy Horse’ Bennett by TKO.

Knucklemania will also feature UFC Hall of Famer Chris Leben. He will fight Quentin Henry.

Leben is a veteran of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. He fought for the UFC between 2005 and 2013 scoring wins over Patrick Cote, Jorge Rivera, Alessio Sakara and Wanderlei Silva.