Mike Richman Is Not the Guy to Draw Into a War at BKFC KnuckleMania VI
Mike Richman clashes with Joe Elmore at BKFC KnuckleMania VI on February 7th in a bout that bare knuckle fans are supremely excited about. When asked when this materialized as the next fight, Richman said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“Well, there was talks of possibly me fighting him [Joe Elmore] and and some other candidates when there was talks of me dropping back down in weight to ’75 and then to ’65. So then his name kind of came up and I think he heard about me coming down and whatnot. I’m sure just like any other fighter with a little bit of pride in their own ego, they’re like, “Alright, cool. You want to you want to come down and fight?” you know.”
“I think that’s kind of what it built up to in that moment when we kind of crossed paths at the the Hollywood, Florida show. That led to us finally making it happen at KnuckleMania. Yeah, I don’t know. It was just kind of a decent number of things, one at a time, that perfect timing in place. For a second, we didn’t think the fight was going to happen. It was like on again, off again, on again for a little bit, but then now it’s, you know, we’re locked in. So it’s showtime.”
‘The Marine’ had a post recently talking about the level of disrespect he felt, not being in the promo video, being a former two-time champion, as well as an eight-time BKFC main event fighter. When the BKFC KnuckleMania III headliner was asked if that still was the sentiment heading into this bout, Richman stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“It did irritate me, for sure. It did frustrate me. It did irritate me. You know, I don’t think there was any; I don’t think there was any ill will on a promotional standpoint of it. You know, sometimes maybe I think because of the back and forth of the fight going to happen, not going to happen. I think that played a role in it. You know, there was just a certain point when I knew when the fight was 100% locked in, I thought maybe that they could have shifted things.”
“Marketing-wise where we are going to land as far as the number on the main card. There were certain little things that yeah, they kind of bugged [me]. It kind of kind of rubbed me the wrong way, the best way to put it. Now it’s like one of those like alright cool, we got to move on. Put it behind you, it’s fine, show everybody again why they love to tune in and watch you fight. So, you know, I let that moment pass. I’m just ready drive forward and make it happen.”
Mike Richman is “not the type of guy you want to draw into a battle” at BKFC KnuckleMania VI
Richman has a consistently exciting style, and Elmore very much fits within a good matchmaking framework for an exhilarating throwdown this weekend. Elmore has tested skills in gloveless combat with a myriad of future or reigning [as of their contest time] bare knuckle champions, including Connor Tierney, Dustin Pague, as well as Leonard Garcia. When asked for his thoughts on Joe Elmore’s overall skill set and what he brings to the table here, Richman quipped [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“I think Joe is; I mean, he’s a scrapper, man. He’s a scrapper, you know, he gets in there and he gets after it. You know, whether he hasn’t won in a handful of years. But he’s fought; he still continues to fight the premier talent. It’s not like they’ve ever dipped. ‘Alright, Joe, you’ve lost. Let’s dip the talent pool for you to kind of get you back in there.’ Every fight he’s kind of fought top tier guys at that time. He just gets out there and he puts on a show.”
“He gets out there and and that’s his style. He’s swinging away and he tries to draw you into an exciting type of fight. He draws you into those little wars, those little battles. I am not the type of guy you want to draw into a battle though [laughs]. Cuz I don’t think he’s really; I’m not saying those other guys can hit hard as me, but I don’t think they can hit hard as me. I just don’t think; I mean I continue to prove it over and over again in different weight classes. We’ll find out.”
