Dave Alvarez and Luke Rockhold have found new homes.
The two UFC former champions have signed new agreements with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. BKFC founder Dave Feldman announced Wednesday’s The MMA Hour ..
Rockhold (16-6) and Alvarez (30-8, 2 NC) were two of the most decorated combat sports free agents who were not already signed to a major organization. Both men have won numerous major titles in their Hall of Fame worthy careers, including a UFC belt.
Both will also make their bare-knuckle debuts on the same night against fellow former UFC fighters, as Rockhold is slated to face Mike Perry and Alvarez is set to face Chad Mendes on April 29 at BKFC 41, which takes place at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Feldman announced the matchups in Wednesday’s episode on The MMA Hour.
Rockhold will face Perry in BKFC ‘s main event. The contest takes place at 185 pound, and Alvarez vs. Mendes is the co-headliner at 165 pound.
The card will air on pay-per-view at a cost of $49.99.
” We have to do this, obviously to be able pay for these men,” Feldman stated.
Feldman said that Rockhold and Alvarez both have options within their contracts which allow them to compete in MMA or boxing outside of BKFC.
BKFC 41 will also feature a flyweight title bout between current champ Christine Ferea vs. Bec Rawlings, plus a heavyweight bout pitting Ben Rothwell against a yet-to-be-announced opponent.
After briefly retiring,
Rockhold asked for and was granted his UFC release on January 2023. A former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion, he lost his final octagon appearance in a spirited affair against Paulo Costa in a bout that made the short list of MMA Fighting’s Fight of the Year candidates in 2022. Rockhold has notable victories over Lyoto Machida and Michael Bisping as well as ex-Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza.
Alvarez, 39, also agreed to part ways with his prior promotion in September 2022 following a four-fight run with ONE Championship, which saw him go 1-2 (1 NC) over four appearances. Sidelined since 2021, Alvarez memorably captured the UFC lightweight title in 2016 with a first-round knockout of Rafael dos Anjos. Alvarez is also an ex-Bellator champion, with notable victories over Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler as well as Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez.
Both Perry and Mendes are undefeated in their BKFC careers. Perry beat Michael Page and Julian Lane in 2022,, while Mendes defeated Joshuah Alvarez in a highlight reel knockout in his February 2022 promotional debut.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/3/1/23619521/luke-rockhold-vs-mike-perry-eddie-alvarez-vs-chad-mendes-set-for-bkfc-41-free-agent-signings?rand=96749
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