Arman Tsarukyan vs. Charles Oliveira 2 cancelled as Tsarukyan set for new UFC 331 fight
BKB CEO David Tetreault is making waves since onboarding with the promotion but also has desires to foster cross promotional agreements with boxing organizations. Mentioning a desire to co-promote with leagues like Zuffa Boxing and Matchroom Boxing whilst explaining why that would make sense considering the roster that BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing has, Tetreault said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“Yeah, A big charge that I implemented inside the company was I really wanted to go after some very skilled boxers. When I joined BKB and I was able to go to the UK as much as I did because they were staging fights there, I saw a skill level in those fighters that was a little bit different. Because all of the heritage in the UK really comes from the boxing tradition. In the US, we were recruiting a lot of MMA fighters from PFL, UFC, Bellator, etc. Very, very good fighters.â€
“But I really upped the game with our matchmaker Mel Valenzuela. Explained to him, I really want to go after natural strikers from the MMA category, and I want to go after some very, very skilled boxers in the boxing category. With that being said, we've been fortunate enough to sign Lee Selby, Victor Ortiz, the Vargas brothers, Yuriorkis Gamboa. That's kind of the start.â€
“Then just recently, Aspen Ladd, and then most recently, Sharif Rahman. So, that's our ethos. That's our charge. It really differentiates us in our category. We are the best bare-knuckle organization on the planet with the way that we're moving and the way that we're running.â€
Referencing the Ortiz camp and a clip that was going around of Tetreault explaining the importance of the clinch while competing inside of the BKB Mighty Trigon, Tetreault stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“Yeah, well, I mean when you spent as much time as I did at Golden Boy. Been in and out of gyms and really Oscar [De La Hoya] and I would talk about his fights and all of that, you really get a good understanding. I was always before I transitioned into boxing from entertainment, I was a huge boxing fan from a very young age. Sugar Ray Leonard was my hero. So then I moved into [Mike] Tyson and then Oscar and then here we are, you know. It's kind of unbelievable.â€
Considering his Golden Boy, is Tetreault interested in working with Oscar De La Hoya too?
With Tetrault's documented history working with Golden Boy, when asked if there was an interest in also co-promoting with Oscar De La Hoya, Tetreault quipped [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“Oh, I mean, interestingly enough, that door would always be open to co-promote with Oscar [De La Hoya]. Oscar and I back in 2020 had conversations with Mike Vazquez and BKB. We were looking at it. We were looking at adding it to our Facebook Watch distribution, which we had a license fee for. At that time, him and I agreed that maybe it was a little premature, but our eye was on that.â€
“He's got great fighters. We have great fighters. There's a lot of opportunity to potentially do that. Oscar is one of the greatest promoters out there, and he knows what he's doing. Was one of the greatest fighters ever in the history of the sport.â€
On Saturday, Fili scored possibly the best knockout of his career, knocking out Kai Kamaka III with a head kick on the main card of UFC Vegas 122. The finish was brutal, putting Kamaka out before he even hit the canvas, but as he rushed forward to finish the fight, Fili pulled up before landing any follow-up shots, realizing Kamaka was unconscious.
At his post-fight press conference afterward, Fili expounded on the moment.
“I say this all the time: I'm a criminal, but I'm not a piece of shit,†Fili said. “I don't litter. I treat people with respect. And when I knock someone out, there's no reason to land that extra shot. He's got kids, he's got a wife, he's got a future outside of fighting. It's just not necessary, man. I hope he's OK. I didn't even really want to watch the replay back.
“Hurting people is part of the sport. I like being good at fighting. I like winning fights. I like getting paid to win fights. I like being on TV. Hurting people is a byproduct of that; it's not a driving force for me. So I'm not gonna land that extra shot.â€
Widely seen as one of the “good guys†of MMA, Fili has been a UFC veteran since 2013, and seemed to be getting emotional during his post-fight scrum. When asked about why, Fili explained.
“I poured everything I am, and everything I have into this performance, and I just really — I'm not scared of anybody in that cage,†Fili said. “Any apprehension or nerves or excitement or butterflies, it's all because I want to perform. I want to make my people proud, I want to make myself proud. I want to perform the way I know I can perform. And when it works out that way, it feels really good.
“And now I'm making enough money to where I can change the trajectory of my entire family. I come from violence and drug abuse and poverty. I live below the poverty line in America, which I know is different from being in some of these other countries, but it's below the poverty line nonetheless, and I'm here to break some generational curses. This shit's hard work.â€
Christian
Leroy Duncan believes a win over Brendan
Allen would warrant a shot at
Ultimate Fighting Championship gold or a matchup with a former
titleholder.
Duncan (15-2) is scheduled to headline
UFC Vegas 122 against Allen (27-7) on Saturday at Meta Apex in
Las Vegas. The Englishman has defeated Roman
Dolidze and Jared
Cannonier in his last two outings and hopes a victory over
Allen will earn him one of those opportunities.
Christian Leroy Duncan targets former champion as next step
after Brendan Allen
Duncan is 8-2 in the UFC and has won five straight fights. He
believes an impressive performance against Allen could propel him
past other middleweight contenders or put him one step closer to a
title shot.
‘I don't see why not [a title shot next],†Duncan told MMA
Fighting. “We get a good performance this weekend, I don't see why
not… Brendan Allen being Top 4, it puts us in that title contention
section where we've got Strickland and Imavov who are supposed to
be fighting next. We've got DDP amongst that mix of former
champions. It will be great to then put my hat in at the top level.
This year I fought Roman being a Top 15 fighter, Cannonier being a
Top 10 fighter and now Brendan Allen being a Top 5, so the natural
progression from that would be a former champion.â€
Middleweight champion Sean
Strickland has said compensation remains an obstacle to
finalizing the first title defense of his second reign, with
Nassourdine
Imavov his expected challenger. Former champions Khamzat
Chimaev and Dricus Du
Plessis are also seeking another fight with the 185-pound
titleholder. Chimaev lost the belt to Strickland earlier this year,
while du Plessis holds two wins over the American.
Christian
Leroy Duncan wants a No. 1 fight — or a straight title shot —
with a win at #UFCVegas122: “I fought Roman being a Top 15 fighter,
Cannonier being a Top 10 fight, and now Brendan
Allen being a Top 5, so the natural progression from that would
be a former champion.” (🎥 @guicruzzz)
Josh
Hokit believes Alexander
Volkov will never get a chance to fight him.
Hokit (10-0) is scheduled to challenge Ciryl Gane
(14-2, one no contest) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Volkov has
criticized Hokit since the title fight was announced, and the
American has responded.
Volkov considers Hokit an easy matchup and predicts that Gane will
defeat the unbeaten contender. In response, Hokit compared their
records, noting that he defeated Derrick
Lewis and Curtis
Blaydes, both of whom beat Volkov.
“Drago†has won consecutive decisions over Jailton
Almeida and Waldo
Cortes-Acosta and is scheduled to face Rizvan
Kuniev at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Hokit added that Blaydes
defeated both Almeida and Kuniev. “The Incredible Hok†claims he
will already be dominating the light heavyweight division by the
time Volkov earns a fight with him.
“Volkov saying he'd beat me easy is funny… He'll never get the
chance,†Hokit wrote on X. “I just beat Blaydes and Lewis. Volkov
lost to BOTH. Now he's fighting Kuniev (who Blaydes beat), after
squeaking by Almeida (who Blaydes dominated). I’m going to kill
Ciryl, who he lost to twice. Zero finishes, pure boring. By the
time you earn a fight with me, I'll already be dominating LH.â€
Volkov saying he'd beat me easy is
funny..he'll never get the chance. I just beat Blaydes and Lewis.
Volkov lost to BOTH. Now he's fighting Kuniev (who Blaydes beat),
after squeaking by Almeida (who Blaydes dominated). I’m going to
kill Ciryl, who he lost to twice. Zero finishes, pure boring. By
the time you earn a fight with me, I'll already be dominating
LH.
— The Incredible Hok (@Josh_HokitUFC)
October 8, 2026