近距离内射合集

When the New Mexico Athletic Commission set about revising its rules and regulations earlier this year, it was hoped in some quarters that bare-knuckle fighting would benefit.

Instead, it has become unclear if there ever will be another NMAC-sanctioned bare-knuckle event in the state. In those revised regulations, the section governing bare-knuckle has been entirely stricken.

Two members of the Albuquerque bare-knuckle community said they鈥檇 been told the initiative to shut down the sport comes from the top: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

In a response to a Journal email requesting comment, Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman wrote the following:

鈥淭he governor is going to reserve comment until after the commission鈥檚 July 20 meeting, at which more facts and testimony about bare knuckle fighting will be presented.

鈥淪he believes all sports in New Mexico should be conducted with safety as a top priority.鈥�

On Friday, NMAC chairman Ed Manzanares declined comment on the bare-knuckle situation beyond saying, 鈥淲e have a meeting July 20th 鈥� to discuss all the rules, discuss them all.鈥�

Ricky Kottenstette, an Albuquerque sports agent, represents Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship flyweight champion John Dodson and several other bare-knuckle fighters. Kottenstette said he was told the governor had been shown a photo that appeared in the Jan. 13 edition of the 近距离内射合集.

In the award-winning photo, taken by Journal photographer Chancey Bush at a Jan. 11, 2025 BYB (now BKB) bare-knuckle card at Revel ABQ, Albuquerque fighter Cody East鈥檚 face is covered with blood from chin to eyebrows with splotches of blood on his left shoulder and left arm.

The photo would go on to win first place in sports photography/videography at the 2026 Society of Professional Journalists Top of the Rockies Excellence in Journalism competition, which awarded the best regional journalism in 2025.

Lujan Grisham, Kottenstette said he was told, 鈥淟ost her damn mind over it and then basically said we don鈥檛 want that here.鈥�

A July 3 email from the Journal, directed to Coleman in pursuit of a comment from Lujan Grisham, summarized Kottenstette鈥檚 remarks and included the reference to the Journal photo.

Gabe Padilla is an Albuquerque freelance reporter and videographer who worked for BYB/BKB at the January 2025 event and has represented the promotional company鈥檚 interests at commission meetings. He鈥檇 asked the commission several times if the revised bare-knuckle regulations would allow for a sixth round in its championship fights, something the promotion required if it were to promote again in New Mexico.

鈥淲hat we were expecting was the athletic commission to adopt the (Association of Boxing Commissions) rule set,鈥� Padilla said in a phone interview. 鈥淯nder the ABC rule set, bare-knuckle modified has been accepted and the ABC rule set allows for six rounds.

鈥淪o that鈥檚 what we were expecting (from the NMAC鈥檚 revised rules).鈥�

Instead, he said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e the ones being left out.鈥�

When Padilla was alerted to the revised rules with the bare-knuckle section in strike-through, he had a phone discussion with NMAC Executive Secretary Jessica Romero in which she mentioned the governor being involved.

Padilla said he couldn鈥檛 recall precisely how Lujan Grisham was mentioned. Nor, he said, did Romero provide a specific reason for the move to eliminate bare-knuckle.

鈥淥ne of the reasons I鈥檓 hearing,鈥� he said, 鈥渋s that they just don鈥檛 like it.鈥�

The origins

In 2012, David Feldman began promoting bare-knuckle fight cards under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship banner in his native Pennsylvania. Gradually, BKFC caught on with the combat sports-minded public. Feldman has staged shows in 25 U.S. states and several foreign countries.

BKFC first came to New Mexico with a card at the Rio Rancho Events Center in August 2022. It returned the following February with a card at Tingley Coliseum, matching Las Cruces鈥� Austin Trout and Albuquerque鈥檚 Diego Sanchez, that drew a crowd of some 7,000 鈥� announced at the time as a BKFC record.

An August 2023 BKFC card at Tingley, with Dodson in the main event, surpassed the previous attendance record with an announced crowd of 7,483.

In all, BKFC has staged six cards in the Albuquerque area 鈥� but none since a relatively lightly attended show at Tingley in June 2025.

Those cards have featured at least 18 New Mexico fighters, most of them multiple times.

Padilla said that in his phone conversation with Romero he talked about the economic impact bare-knuckle fighting has had, and could have in the future.

鈥�(The bare-knuckle promotions) bring the best show in town as of late,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ore fans than any (boxing or MMA) promoter that we have here on a more consistent basis.鈥�

There will be blood, but 鈥�

As one might expect, facial cuts in bare-knuckle fights are more frequent than in boxing matches or MMA fights 鈥� though cuts often occur in those sports as well. (The January 2025 fight between East and opponent Dylan Rush, matching two relatively slow-moving, defense-challenged heavyweights, might be considered an outlier.)

But Kottenstette, a former gym manager at Albuquerque鈥檚 Jackson-Wink MMA Academy, said he believes bare-knuckle is the less dangerous sport of the two.

鈥淚鈥檝e never had (one of his bare-knuckle fighters) break a hand,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never had a guy have a major injury. I鈥檝e never had a guy out (due to injury) for more than two months, which is more than I could say for the UFC with ACLs (being) rebuilt over the years and a lot of that stuff.

鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot more traumatic injuries in the UFC than I鈥檝e had in bare-knuckle.鈥�

Such injuries do sometimes occur in bare-knuckle.

Trout broke his left hand during his BKFC welterweight title victory over Carlos 鈥淪nake鈥� Trinidad in April 2025. Albuquerque鈥檚 Donald Sanchez suffered a torn UCL (elbow injury) during his loss to David Mundell at Tingley in June 2025.

Relative to boxing, bare-knuckle fights tend to be of shorter duration. At a July 3 BKFC card in Philadelphia, only four of 11 fights went the full prescribed distance (five two-minute rounds).

A 2021 study conducted by the Association of Ringside Physicians found that bare-knuckle fighters sustain more cuts and abrasions than boxers do but sustain fewer concussions and, surprisingly, fewer broken hands.

Deaths occasionally occur as a result of participation in combat sports.

In October 2021, Justin Thornton died from injuries sustained in a BKFC fight in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Deaths as a result of injuries sustained in boxing are more common than in bare-knuckle, according to data found online. A shows 37 boxing deaths worldwide, five in the 近距离内射合集 States, since Feldman began promoting bare-knuckle in 2012. Far more athletes compete as boxers than as bare-knuckle fighters.

Moot point?

Since the BKFC鈥檚 most recent card in Albuquerque some 13 months ago, attendance at BKFC shows at other sites has dwarfed those previously record crowds in Albuquerque. Perhaps BKFC has simply outgrown New Mexico.

Kottenstette doesn鈥檛 think so.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to lose this market,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e met with Feldman and those guys a couple times in the last few weeks, just game-planning.鈥�

Padilla said he believed, had the athletic commission quickly moved to approve a sixth round for BYB/BKB championship fights, that promotion would have come back to Albuquerque at least three times since its show in January 2025.

鈥淏KB would be a consistent, reliable, positive, impactful promotion to have here,鈥� he said.

That, though, is not the direction the state of New Mexico appears poised to go.

Rick Wright covers combat sports for the Journal. He can be reached at rwright@abqjournal.com.