All eyes will be on Sarnia’s Devin Gibson when the Canadian Debut of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) takes place in a few weeks.
The 29-year-old fighter will take on No. 2 ranked Tyler Randall in the historic main event, happening March 2 in Edmonton, Alberta.
“It was really big when we figured it out; it was unexpected — they just put out the poster and we found out online,” Gibson told the Journal. “We were just happy to be on the card, and then they put out the poster and said we were going to be main the event.”
Since its debut in 2018, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has promoted more than 60 events across the United States, Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom. Every fight streams live on The BKFC App.
Gibson said his fight with Randall is one that’s been long overdue — and that they would have already faced off, if Gibson would have won his debut fight by knockout, instead of decision.
“I fought six days before Tyler’s debut; they told me that night if I would have knocked out the guy I fought in the first fight, with no injuries, they would have had me come back six days later and fight Tyler in his debut.”
Since then, Gibson explained, Randall has ‘called him out’ in post-fight interviews and online.
“We were kind of both at a point in our careers where it was the fight that made the most sense. So I reached out to the matchmakers asking about it, and they really liked the idea, and it just fell into place that it became this historical show we were able to do it on.”
For Gibson, the fight is a huge step towards his goal of becoming the first-ever Canadian BKFC champion.
“I got injured in my last fight, so I think the step forward is first getting through Tyler, and either re-maching or fighting the guy who’s number 1.”
Gibson, whose record dropped to 2-1-0 in the BKFC after a loss to Albert Inclan, says he knows what happened in his last fight, and feels he will be prepared for Randall, who is coming off back-to-back losses.
“I just really needed to strengthen my hands this fight,” he said. “So a lot of the preparation I have been doing is strengthening the muscles and strengthening the knuckles — just getting it to the point where I can go five rounds with no issues, and use the skill I want to use, just be able to put that output for the whole fight.”
Gibson, a former boxer, says he uses a lot of the same training as he would for boxing — though they do incorporate some Muay Thai in as well — and feels he knows what to expect from his match-up with Randall.
“For Tyler, I don’t see that being a big game. He is a wrestler and an MMA fighter, but when he fights bare knuckle he likes to strike, so I think it’s gonna be a striking match.”
Randall, a native of Fort Myers, Florida, is the No. 2 contender in the BKFC men's flyweight division. Currently, Gibson isn't listed in the Top 5 rankings, so this is a big opportunity for him. Randall, 29, has a record of two wins, two losses with BKFC.
Of course, Gibson’s ultimate goal is a shot at John ‘The Magician’ Dodson — the undefeated BKFC World Men's Flyweight Champion — to become the first-ever Canadian BKFC champion.
A secondary dream for the Sarnia native is a fight in front of a Toronto crowd, something he hopes will be possible down the road.
“It’s a big step towards opening up some more doors in Canada,” Gibson said of the event in Edmonton. “It is obviously a brutal sport to look at from the outside, but there are less concussions in the sport, there’s just a lot of safety precautions that the organization takes itself, so it’s just really getting the fan base and getting people understanding about the sport is huge.”
Much like other combat sports before it, BKFC has met with some challenges but has been making headway across the US and the world.
Gibson acknowledges the Ontario commission may be tough to get past, but as more become aware and understand the sport, it’s hoped that BKFC will be more widely accepted.
Go to BKFC.com for more information on the fight and how to watch it.