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BYB Extreme has come out swinging.
What started as backyard brawling has become the newest, fastest growing and possibly most exciting combat sport – bare knuckle fighting, and Miami-based BYB (backyard brawl) Extreme has quickly risen to the pinnacle of the sport.
Now legal, sanctioned and regulated in Florida and more than 20 other states, bare knuckle fighting is exactly what it sounds like; no gloves are used, although fighters may tape their wrists, thumbs and mid-hands. No kicks, elbows, knees or grappling are allowed, either.
“Bare knuckle fighting was popularized on YouTube in South Florida by brawlers such as Dada 5000 and the late Kimbo Slice,” says BYB Extreme’s Mike Vazquez, the former NASCAR team owner who co-founded the series with mixed martial artist Dhafir Harris in 2015. “The next championships bouts will take place February 3rd in Miramar, Florida, and then in March, we’ll take BYB Extreme to Dubai for the first time bare knuckle fighting has taken place in that country.”
According to Vazquez, bare knuckle fighting is actually safer than boxing or mixed martial arts.
“The injury rate is far less,” he says. “There are fewer orbital injuries, concussions and hand injuries. There are more facial lacerations, however, but they are minor. Another important difference is that our bouts generally don’t go beyond the second or third round before there’s a knockout. You can’t compare that to 15 rounds of boxing where 300 head punches are landed.”
Bouts of five three-minute rounds are standard. Another interesting aspect is that a triangle-shaped ring known as the “Trigon” is used for bare knuckle fighting. It’s the smallest fighting surface in all combat sports and forces the action due to its very tight corners. BYB Extreme holds the patent on the Trigon ring.
BYB Extreme’s roster is truly international, with fighters from Poland, Ukraine, Mexico, Canada, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Cuba competing. Current fighting under the BYB Extreme banner include Super Middleweight Jose Fernandez, Middleweight Desmond Green, Super Middleweight Sam Liera, Welterweight Seth Shaffer and Heavyweight D.J. Linderman. Super Welterweight Jozette Cotton and Lightweight Paty Juarez are BYB Extreme’s female champions.
BYB Extreme also has an arrangement with their counterpart in England known as BKB. “For every one of our events, BKB sends us a British fighter, and we send one of ours to each of their contests,” explains Vazquez.
BYB Extreme’s play-by-play commentary is provided by former UFC and Bellator announcer Mike Goldberg, while former six-time world boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi provides on-air color and analysis. BYB Extreme bouts can be viewed on YouTube and, according to Vazquez, plans to air series on a major network are underway.
For more information about BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting, please visit www. https://bybextreme.com. Tickets for the February 3rd event are available at www.bybtickets.com .
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