Livestream: 6pm PT / 9pm ET / 2am GMT / 9am Thailand, Friday 5th / Saturday 6th , March only at bareknuckle.tv…
As many continue to search for direction in a world still hobbled by the global pandemic, Full Metal Dojo (FMD) returns in yet another form hoping to lift you out of whatever rut you find yourself in this month. The folks at FMD, known for an artistic and comedic flare rarely seen in this industry, come at us this time with their newest concoction, Bare Knuckle Kingdom.
Partnering with the rapidly growing Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship(BKFC), Bare Knuckle Kingdom will air on March 5th in the US(March 6th Thailand) and will be shown exclusively on the BKTV app. The BKTV app has a roughly $10 sign up fee and costs just $4 per month beyond that and presents an interesting alternative to the traditional PPV model.
Now, in true FMD form you should expect this event to be quite unique(to say the least) and potentially full of surprises as evidenced by Bob Sapp’s appearance at FMD’s Fight Circus 2: Circus Harder, but that’s a story for another day. What’s immediately noticeable as unique about this event is the combined resumes of the participants totals close to 1 thousand fights, potentially more. There are several high level Muay Thai fighters on this card with perhaps 300 fights of their own. There is a women’s Lethwei Champion, a Vale Tudo champion, MMA pros and so on. For many of these fighters it will be their first professional bare knuckle bout.
Tickets are limited to small number of VIP packages that include:
  10 Bare Knuckle bouts featuring champions and pros from Boxing, Muay Thai, Lethwei, K-1, Vale Tudo, MMA and more. Panda Banks was the 2017 WBC Super Heavyweight Muay Thai Champion and 2012 Vale Tudo Heavyweight Champion, has cardio for days and isn’t afraid to trash talk his opponent during the fight. This fight is a rematch with Khazakstan’s Nikolay Gussev who narrowly lost a decision to Panda in Muay Thai in 2016. In a battle of two men who genuinely seem to hate each other(see their social media) we have the brash Brit TJ Chang(1-0 Bare knuckle/3-4 Boxing) facing the flamboyant Brazilian Fabiano Hawthorne(39-19 Muay Thai.) Fabiano will be in his first bare knuckle fight but has experience fighting gloveless in Lethwei. TJ is slick and Fabiano bangs, this is an interesting match-up on paper and because of the simmering animosity. France’s Manfredi is the first ever Women’s Bantamweight Lethwei Champion fighting out of WLC Myanmar and also has an extensive Muay Thai background and a record of 31-9. Again no stranger to fighting without gloves in WLC, Manfredi steps in for her first purely bare knuckle bout against Thai Muay Thai fighter “Nong Noey” Saelakhon who will be in her first bareknuckle bout as well. The Canadian Tello comes into this fight with an amateur boxing record of 73-11 and faces Brazilian Muay Thai veteran Jean Pereira who boasts a 30-10 record in MT. Two experienced strikers set to go bone on bone in a match up sure to ignite some fireworks. Bout info pending… “Petch Samui” with approximately 150 Muay Thai fights under his belt is a bit of a superstar in Thailand but Rockie Bactol has made a name for himself asreal brawler in MMA circles in Asia. Looking to diversify his fight resume, and in true Rockie(y) form, Bactol is taking on a seasoned professional who is no stranger to ending people’s nights early and painfully. Bactol’s inclusion on this card furthers the reputation of Yorky MMA Gym in Bangkok for consistently placing high level fighters in the biggest promotions around. “Nong Mint” is a SEA Games Gold Medalist with around 300 Muay Thai fights and clearly a dangerous competitor. Across from her will stand Denman Gym’s latest prospect in Po who comes in with a record of 5-1 Muay Thai, 1-0 Lethwei, 5-2 Amateur Boxing. Po fought to a dominant Lethwei victory in Fight Circus 1 and has some familiarity with fighting gloveless so pencil this one as a potential sleeper for fight of the night. An interesting turn of events here as New Zealand’s Kerr was originally set to fight Mikail Vetrila but Vetrila was injured while filming a promo for the event. The promo was an actual bare knuckle fight in the woods of Phuket pitting Gilbert vs Mikail and Gilbert’s impressive performance not only opened a nasty cut on Vetrila’s face but earned him a spot on the big show. Kerr has hinted that this may be his swan song so I wouldn’t want to miss this one. The Trukish Semet is undefeated in Muay Thai at 8-0 and faces a very unique opponent in “Tetee” who made quite a name for himself last year for his “Kicking Only” victories at Fight Circus 1 & 2. So, “Tetee, the Kicking Only Kid” now has a bare knuckle boxing match. Don’t let the “Kicking Only” victories fool you, “Tetee” also has a 2-0 Lethwei record, is 13-2 Muay Thai and trains at Denman Gym with some of the best strikers in the region. Sriracha endeared himself to FMD fans when he stepped in bare knuckle to face the considerably larger TJ Chang at Fight Circus 2. Losing the bout but fighting to the bell and firing up the crowd between rounds have seemingly earned Sriracha his way back into another FMD event and another formidable opponent. Team Quest Thailand’s Kristof Kirsch out of Germany has a 23-3 Muay Thai record with 17 KOs and has Lethwei victories as well. This would seem to lean heavily in Kirsch’s favor but that’s why FMD loves Sriracha, you never know what’s going to happen when he’s in there. Fairtex Training Center has been churning out high level martial artist for years and Fanta Fairtex is no exception with his impressive 55-16-2 Muay Thai record. Facing Fanta will be Tiger Muay Thai Gym’s rising star the Mongolian born Mega Borkhuu. Mega boasts a solid 20-4-2 Muay Thai record and produced a savage performance, including entirely legal headbutts, in his last bout at World Lethwei Championship. A lot of pride is on the line between these two gyms and their fighters never disappoint.
Bare Knuckle Kingdom Fight Card
Steve “Panda” Banks Vs Nikolay Gussev (heavyweight 120kg)
TJ “Hellboy” Chang Vs Fabiano Hawthorne (catchweight 76kg)
Souris Manfredi Vs Kesorn “Nong Noey” Saenlakhon (catchweight 54kg)
Jonny Tello Vs Jean Pereira (super middleweight 80kg)
Vlad Vokhmintsev Vs Naeem Binhar (welterweight 68kg)
Kajonpong “Petch Samui” Suwantee Vs Rockie Bactol (lightweight 62.5kg)
Ketmanee “ Nong Mint” Chasing Vs Po Denman (catchweight 54kg)
Gilbert Patrocino Vs Daniel Kerr (catchweight 77kg)
Watcharin “Tetee” Saebe Vs Omer Semet (catchweight 65kg)
Whanphichit “Sriracha” Siriphana Vs Kristof Kirsch (catchweight 74kg)
Fanta Fairtex Vs Mega Borkhuu (57kg)
