Austin Trout has spent the better part of the past 18 years fighting the best boxers in the world. But he’ll test himself in a new sport on Friday when he makes his debut at BKFC KnuckleMania 3 in New Mexico.
Despite still being ranked in his weight class, the 37-year-old veteran was intrigued by the chance to compete in bare-knuckle, a sport that caught his attention long before he got an offer to test himself in the discipline.
“It’s crazy, because watching bare-knuckle, I would be like, ‘I could do that,'” Trout told MMA Fighting. “It was just one of those things. It was just one of those things. It was .”
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Trout said signing with BKFC was exactly what he wanted to do and there was no ulterior motive behind the move. He said he was not in a position where he necessarily needed the money, though a hefty paycheck is always nice.
Trout said fights are being offered to him in boxing, but he wanted to try something new, and BKFC afforded him that chance.
“It is definitely something that I would like to do,” he stated. I’m No. 6 in the WBA, No. 9 was my IBF rank, and I have hopes of winning a boxing title. But I see this as something that everybody can get behind. It’s entertaining as hell. They do a great job with marketing.
” I consider this to be something that I am interested in, no. 1 and No. 2, it’s possibly a future in combat sports and entertainment.”
In his debut at BKFC KnuckleMania 3, Trout faces UFC legend Diego Sanchez in the co-main event. This fight marks Sanchez’s debut in bare-knuckle combat after a long career in MMA and grappling.
Trout was a former UFC interim champion welterweight champ Carlos Condit. They met up occasionally, but never had the opportunity to meet.
Based on reputation alone, Trout has a lot of respect for Sanchez as an opponent, and he’s familiar enough with MMA to understand the type of opponent he’s about to face. He expects to be able to outpunch Sanchez in a number of ways, including his speed, punching power and defensive skills that he has honed over many hours.
” The thing about MMA men is that they throw punches from strange angles,” Trout said. “It’s very out of the book, and if you’re not used to seeing it, it can catch you off guard. It is a positive that I have been around a lot MMA fighters. I wasn’t the type of boxer like, ‘We don’t do MMA!’ As far as your martial arts go, boxing is one of the purest forms of martial arts, and I’m interested in learning other arts.
“I expect him to try and make it as ugly and as dirty a fight as he can. He’s durable enough to do that. We do expect some semblance of his last performance. It is an entirely different sport. To keep him away from me, I’m counting on my abilities to shock him. To make him feel guilty about coming in with me
If there is one trait Sanchez has remained consistent with throughout his entire career, it’s his strength and endurance. He has only four knockouts in his 44 fight record. As he steps into a new type of fighting sport, which negates his most powerful weapons such as wrestling and grappling, he will likely be able to rely on this again.
Trout is grateful for Sanchez’s good looks over the years. However, he doesn’t think the UFC’s harsh punishments will be enough to prepare him for what he’ll get from a champion boxer on Friday.
” If he is unable to trust his chin enough, Trout advised. I might even smash your body. One might hold up but I doubt both will. You get hit, he is a veteran fighter in the sport but hasn’t taken punches for as long as I have. There’s a difference with chins as far as boxer and MMA fighters, in my opinion. That’s just my opinion based on experience.
“That’s no shade towards MMA fighters, a lot of them started taking punches when they started doing MMA. Now, MMA has been going on long enough, but young kids could have started fighting younger, and they could get accustomed to the shots. But I’ve been boxing since I was 10, so I’ve been learning how to take a punch since I was 10.”
If Sanchez is a bit too cautious and just wants to eat his lips and exchange punches with Trout, Trout will allow him to do so but it’s unlikely he’ll enjoy the end result.
“Diego relies on his ground game most of his UFC experience, except that one fight in which he and [Gilbert Melendez] just stood there socked,” Trout stated.
“But nonetheless, he hasn’t been punched by a boxer. It’s not by me. This will be an effort of his valiant, but .”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/17/23601784/austin-trout-warns-diego-sanchez-not-to-rely-on-his-chin-to-survive-at-bkfc-knucklemania-3?rand=96749
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