IBA Bare Knuckle made its United States debut Saturday night at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami, marking the promotion's first event in the American market. The card featured athletes from boxing, mixed martial arts and kickboxing, with former boxing interim champion Javier Fortuna of the Dominican Republic making a successful bare knuckles debut, winning a unanimous decision over Colombia's Alejandro Munera. In the main event, Vyacheslav "Slava Claus" Borshchev of Russia won his bare-knuckle debut by unanimous decision over former BKFC champion Elvin Brito of Puerto Rico after five rounds. In the chief support, fellow Russian Alan Salamov stopped Markus Suarez of the United States in the opening round of his bare-knuckle debut.

 

Former UFC champion Jon Jones serving as event ambassador. Former UFC champions Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos joined veteran broadcaster Mike Goldberg on the commentary team. "Our successful entry into the United States represents a pivotal moment for IBA Bare Knuckle," said Chris Roberts, the IBA's secretary general and CEO. "Miami brought incredible energy, but the real victory was showing that bare-knuckle boxing can operate at the highest level of professionalism and governance. In this organization, we do what is right, not what is easy, and building that trust is what will drive our global expansion forward."

 

RESULTS

 

Vyacheslav Borshchev (Russia) UD5 Elvin Brito (Puerto Rico);

Alan Salamov (Russia) TKO1 Markus Suarez (United States);

Javier Fortuna (Dominican Republic) UD Alejandro Munera (Colombia);

George Sosa (United States) TKO3 Coty Cook (United States);

Louis Brewington (United States) TKO2 Ivanieldo Mettendaf (United States);

Alex Cook (United States) TKO3 Kendrick Miree (United States);

Wayna Reid (United States) TKO2 Imani Smith (United States);

Diego Romo (Ecuador) UD Freddy Saavedra (United States); and

Micah Mitchell (United States) TKO Lazaro Lara (United States, corner retirement).