Former UFC fighter Din Thomas will be the blow-by-blow announcer for the explosive bare-knuckles fighting pay-per-view event, “BYB Brawl 1: Brawl For It ALL”, on Friday night, April 5, live from the Cheyenne Ice & Event Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
“BYB Brawl 1: Brawl For It ALL” Is the first sanctioned-event promoted by BYB Extreme Fighting Series (BYB), bare-knuckles fighting’s most intense combat sports promoter, featuring 10 professional bare-knuckle fights and two mixed-martial-arts fights, all held inside the “The Trigon”, the most confrontational cage in combat sports. The much-anticipated show is presented by title sponsor Pure and Natural (www.getpureandnatural.com) and available to watch live worldwide on pay-per-view.
Thomas will be joined at cage-side by color commentators Dyrushio “Rusy” Harris and his brother, Dhafir Harris, who is better known as iconic backyard- brawler Dada 5000. Tony Martinez will support the BYB announcing team in Spanish (SAP option), while veteran Bob Alexander is the BYB ring announcer.
BYB Extreme and Lights Out Productions was initially inspired by the Backyard Fights that were held in Miami, featured in the award-winning documentary “Dawg Fight”, which debuted on Netflix and it still remains available to watch. Dada 5000 was the subject and star of “Dawg Fight”. Production of “Dawg Fight 2”, produced once again by award-winning documentary filmmaker Billy Corben (Rakontur), concludes at “BYB Brawl 1: Brawl for it ALL”.
“BYB Brawl 1: Brawl For It ALL” will revolutionize bare-knuckles fighting with all fights held inside its triangular cage, “The Trigon” (pictured below) – 7′ high fences, two beveled corners and a 60-degree, tight third-corner forming a triangle, totaling 187 square feet – marking the first time a professional bare-knuckles event is held inside a cage. This will also be the first time bare-knuckles fighting and MMA are contested in a cage on the same night.
Thomas had a standout MMA career, 26-9 (7 KOs, 15 submissions) pro record, including nine fights in the UFC. “I’m looking forward to calling the action,” Thomas said. “At first it took me a minute to appreciate it (bare-knuckle fighting), but I’ve always expected it. Now that I’ve learned to fully appreciate it, I’ve been studying bare-knuckles fighting up close.
“At the end of the day, I’ve watched guys throw punches the last 25 years, so bare-knuckles fighting isn’t foreign to me. The action is quicker, though. Bare-knuckles fighting epitomizes entertainment more than any combat sport. I’m expecting a night of exciting, tough fights”
Integrated Sports Media will distribute the Apr. 5th “BYB Brawl 1: Brawl For It ALL” throughout North America – in English and Spanish – on pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Dish and Vubiquity in the United States, as well as via Bell TV, Shaw, Rogers and SaskTel in Canada, on cable, satellite and digital pay-per-view. It will also be live-streamed worldwide on the FITE.TV app and website. The action starts at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, all, for a suggested retail price of $24.95.
The first two bare-knuckles fights will be streamed live for FREE on FITE.TV and Facebook Live, starting at 9 p.m. et / 6 p.m. PT, leading into the BYB PPV card.
“There are many people to thank prior to this event, BYB Extreme promoter Mike Vazquez commented,” but no one more than Chairman Bryan Pedersen and the Wyoming Boxing & MMA Commission. Bryan and his team, Jeremy Arneson and Nick Meeker, have been an absolute pleasure to work with. Bryan was the first in the nation to stand up and recognize bare-knuckle boxing, Additionally, commission members came to Florida to inspect and approve our cage, ‘The Trigon”. Without a doubt Bryan and the Wyoming Commission have led the way for bare-knuckle boxing to become mainstream, and other states are quickly following suit.”
“We are grateful to see BYB Extreme Bare-Knuckle Brawls come to Wyoming,” Pedersen added. “Bare Knuckle is an exciting opportunity for athletes in combat sports to have another option to compete. We are proud to provide a home for the sport to grow in a way that offers transparency, accountability and consistency to the fighters, promoters and fans!”
Miami-based knockout specialist artist Joshua “Dempsey” Gormley (23-6, 23 KOs pro boxing record), the great-grandson of legendary world heavyweight boxing champion Jack “The Manassa Mauler” Dempsey, will headline “BYB Brawl 1: Brawl For It ALL” against veteran MMA fighter Bobby “Zombie” Brents (17-7), a former Shamrock FC champion from Springfield, Illinois.
In the co-featured event, Canadian kickboxer Jake “The Good” Young and Nebraska MMA veteran Matt “MFD” Delanoit will battle in a classic clash of contrasting fight styles.
Bordering state rivals, Wyoming favorite and BKB champion Billy “The Kid” Martin takes and Colorado striker Leo Pla, will be in a grudge match.
In the MMA main event, Idaho heavyweight Jamelle “The Best” Jones, a two-time national collegiate wrestling champion, takes on five-time pro MMA champion and multiple Tough Man Contest winner, Matt “The Attack” Kovacs, of Washington.
A special female bantamweight bare-knuckles fight matches Washington state’s MMA fighter Christine “Knuckles” Stanley with North Carolina boxer Latoya “Lionheart” Burton,who did two tours of Iraq as a member of the U.S. Air Force.
The potential Fight of the Night is a back-yard brawling rubber match between Miami middleweights Alphonso “Chocolate” Frierson and Mike “Dragon Hulk” Trujillo in a “Special Dawg Fight Trilogy Match. Frierson won their original fight by way of a sensational knockout that went viral, but Trujillo rebound to defeat “Chocolate” when the later retired during their second throw-down.
Other bare-knuckles fights on the Apr. 5th card include dangerous Las Vegas light heavyweight Joey Angelo vs. Joseph Guillen, of Wyoming; Atlanta cruiserweight Robert “Real Business” Brown, Jr. vs. Lorenzo “The Juggernaut” Hunt, of Jacksonville, FL; Michigan bantamweight Brian “Stone Handz” Jackson vs. Dominican John Michael “JoMi” Escoboa, who fights out of Coconut Creek, FL; Georgia flyweight and three-time U.S. Army boxing champion, Albert “Speedy” Martinez, vs. Virgin Island native Kory “Ballistic” Vialet, now living in Texas; and Canadian featherweight Desmond Johnson vs. International Muay Thai champion Robert “Billy Bad Ass” Fletcher, of Park City, Minnesota. (The latter two fights listed here will be streamed live on the free BYB Preview Show.)
The card also features a fight of MMA heavyweights, Fort Lauderdale’s (FL) Jermayne “Redman” Barnes against Detroit’s Lamar “The Abomination” Cannady-Foster.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets are on sale, ranging between $150.00 and $25.00, and may be purchased by going here: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1824090. Minors under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
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