Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 16 betting tips & best odds

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 16 betting preview

The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship had its first event for 2021 on February 5th with Knuckle Mania in Lakeland, Florida. The promotion returns to Biloxi, Mississippi, this Friday night for BKFC 16: Leonard Garcia vs Joe Elmore. Here’s a breakdown of this exciting pay-per-view card.

Main Event: Joe Elmore (-155) vs Leonard Garcia (+125)

Joe Elmore wrapped up a 13-12-0 professional career in MMA in June of 2019 and turned his focus to bare-knuckle fighting in 2020. The transition has been a successful one so far as Elmore is off to a perfect 2-0 start after scoring a first-round knockout win over Will Chope at BKFC 11 last July and a decision win over Tom Shoaff at BKFC 12 in September.

Leonard Garcia has had a long professional career in combat sports. He finished his time in MMA with a pro record of 18-13-1 and is the former Legacy FC Featherweight Champion. The 41-year-old defeated Julian Lane with a second-round knockout in his promotion debut at BKFC 4 in February of 2019 but was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout defeat against Jim Alers in August of 2019 at BKFC 7.

This should be a fun main event as both of these fighters are aggressive and won’t be afraid to trade blows in the center of the ring. With Garcia getting up there in age and coming off of a knockout loss, the edge has to go to Elmore here; but regardless of who wins, this fight isn’t likely to go the judges.

Co-Main Event: Reggie Barnett Jr (-150) vs DeMarcus Corley (+120)

Reggie Barnett Jr has compiled an impressive career in bare-knuckle fighting to date with a 5-1 record, with his only loss coming against former bantamweight champion Johnny Bedford. DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley will be making his bare-knuckle debut after a long professional career in boxing. The 46-year-old southpaw has a professional boxing record of 51-33-1 with 28 knockouts under his belt.

This will be a high-stakes bout for both of these fighters. Barnett Jr could improve to 6-1 in the BKFC and pick up a statement win against a veteran boxer. Corley, meanwhile, could immediately establish himself as a big name in the BKFC with a win over one of the promotion’s most experienced fighters. We lean towards Barnett Jr in this spot considering that Corley is well past his prime at 46 and coming off four straight losses in boxing.

More BKFC 16 betting odds

Fight fans will have no shortage of action to bet on this Friday night on this 10-bout card. Here are the BKFC betting odds on the eight fights leading up to the two top matches:

• Arnold Adams (-200) vs Bobo O’Bannon (+160)
• Kaleb Harris (-280) vs Noah Cutter (+220)
• Melvin Guillard (-115) vs Scott O’Shaughnessy (-115)
• Jason Fish (-200) vs Adrian Miles (+160)
• David Diaz (-115) vs Spencer Ruggeri (-115)
• Elvin Brito (-280) vs Brad Kelly (+220)
• Tyler Hill (-130) vs Zion Tomlinson (+100)
• Ryan Jones (-115) vs Eric Thompson (-115)