BKB 59 Books Fernandez Title Defense In Mexico

Bare Knuckle Boxing lands in Mexico for the first time with a pair of title fights booked for Sept. 19 at Auditorio Municipal de Tijuana.

Local champion Julian Fernandez puts his BKB super cruiserweight title on the line against former three-division titleholder Daniel Podmore in the main event, as MMA Mania reports. The co-main features Mexico's Cecy Ulloa challenging Andy Nguyen for the vacant flyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super flyweight belt.

Fernandez Defends In Front Of Home Crowd

Fernandez enters the Trigon unbeaten at 3-0 after knocking out Alex Wilson in the opening round at BKB 53 last April in Niagara Falls. The Tijuana native turned professional in 2016 and compiled a 16-4 record in boxing before switching to bare knuckle, where he captured the national title. His father Pedro "Pitbull" Fernandez also fought professionally.

Podmore brings a 9-4 bare knuckle record after stopping Jarome Hatch by technical knockout at BKB 55 in Cardiff. The Briton has held BKB titles at heavyweight, bridgerweight and cruiserweight during his career.

"Our Mexico debut deserves nothing less than two world championship fights, and that's exactly what fans in Tijuana are getting on September 19," BKB CEO David Tetreault said, per the report. "Julian Fernandez defending his title in his hometown is the statement we wanted to make in this market."

Ulloa owns 18 years of combat sports experience and a 2-1 record with one no contest in bare knuckle competition. The Puerto Vallarta native and gym owner ranked as the top flyweight in the discipline as recently as 2019. Nguyen competed as the first professional Vietnamese-American female fighter in combat sports and won three King of the Cage atomweight titles before moving to bare knuckle.

Tickets for the doubleheader went on sale through BKB59.com. The promotion partnered with Zanfer Boxing to stage the event.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — BKB 59 championship doubleheader booked for Sept. 19 in Mexico