HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Jimmie Rivera didn’t win or lose in his bareknuckle boxing debut.
The former UFC contender fought Howard Davis to a majority draw on the main card of Friday’s BKFC 26. The official scoring was 49-45 in favor of Davis and 47-47, 47-47.
Rivera started slowly in the fight. He likely lost the first round to Davis, but got in the groove in the following rounds.
Rivera, who was the shorter fighter, would stay on the outside and flurry in with combinations just to lock up and use his dirty boxing from the clinch. On a couple of occasions, Rivera connected hard and wobbled Davis.
Davis also did a good job by taking Rivera’s shots well and also answering back with straight punches. However, Rivera seemed to land the harder shots in the fight.
Nice right hand by @JimmieRivera135 at the end of round 4.#BKFC26 pic.twitter.com/MsO0uSK3qP
— FITE (@FiteTV) June 25, 2022
Rivera was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Pedro Munhoz at UFC Fight Night 186 in August 2021. The fight won both fighters $50,000 for Fight of the Night awards.
The 32-year-old fought for the UFC from 2015 to 2021 where he compiled a record of 7-4. Rivera defeated several notable fighters throughout his UFC tenure, besting Urijah Faber, Munhoz, John Dodson, Cody Stamann, and others. He’s also a former CFFC bantamweight champion and Bellator veteran.
