UFC veteran Chris Leben will remain on Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) 6.
BKFC officials announced via MMA Fighting this week that Leben, who was slated to face Brennan Ward, will now face late replacement Dakota Cochrane at the June 22 event from Tampa, Florida. No details were released on why Ward withdrew from the fight so close its date.
Leben, a longtime UFC fan favorite, is undefeated at 2-0 in the world of pro bare knuckle boxing. Leben made his BKFC debut at April’s BKFC 5: Lobov vs. Knight. He knocked out Justin Baesman in less than 30 seconds. The win came after his first bare knuckle bout at November 2018’s World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) event. He faced and defeated Phil Baroni by TKO.
Leben retired from mixed martial arts (MMA) in January 2014. He was a fan favorite thanks to his all-out brawling style that led to 12 knockout wins. ‘The Crippler’ was set for a return with Bellator MMA in 2016, but forced to retire because of a heart condition.
As for Cochrane, this will be the second time he’s replaced Ward in a bare knuckle fight, oddly enough. He did so at the same WBKFF show Leben competed at last fall. Stepping in on short notice, Cochrane defeated former UFC champ Johny Hendricks by TKO.
BKFC 6 will be headlined by the bad blood-promoted match between UFC veteran Lobov and former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi.
