Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returns this Saturday, October 20 with a historic night of action as the first ever legally regulated and sanctioned championship bare knuckle fight ever will pit Sam Shewmaker against Arnold Adams in the BKFC heavyweight tournament final live on pay-per-view from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In addition to crowning the first heavyweight champion of BKFC, the quarterfinals of the BKFC lightweight tournament will launch and begin the road towards crowning another BKFC champion. The heavyweight final will feature Shewmaker, an undefeated professional boxer, taking on MMA veteran Adams in a clash of styles that should thrill fight fans everywhere.

“This is the perfect matchup for a fight of this magnitude and I anticipate a knockout victory,” said BKFC founder and president David Feldman. “Our goal is to grow champions and Sam Shewmaker and Arnold Adams have proved that they belong in this position. I think they’ll take their experience from earlier rounds of the tournament and put on their best performances on Saturday. It’s going to be an honor to declare the winner of this fight the first champion in BKFC history.”

Shewmaker delivered one of the signature highlights at “BKFC 1: The Beginning” when he scored a sensational knockout over Eric Prindle, just 18 seconds into the first round. He followed that up by putting on a boxing clinic against the 6’9″ Maurice Jackson at “BKFC 2: A New Era” in August on his way to a split decision victory and a place in the BKFC heavyweight tournament final.

Adams debuted at BKFC 1 with a performance that saw him bloody D.J. Linderman early before eventually forcing him to concede after two rounds. Adams continued to do damage at BKFC 2 when he met up with Joey Beltran in another fight that featured Adams opening up a big cut on his opponent that would eventually lead to the doctor stopping the fight in favor of Adams.

“These fighters are looking to make history and put their names down as the first champions of bare knuckle in history,” added Feldman. “We’ve been building to this moment over the course of our first two shows and it’s going to be an incredible way to cap off this tournament. We look forward to fans getting this kind of action in future tournaments for years to come.”

The journey to BKFC’s first lightweight world champion will begin on Saturday as a tournament field led by UFC veteran Johnny Bedford and professional boxer Reggie Barnett Jr. compete in separate quarterfinal attractions. Bedford battles Matt “The KO Kid” Murphy while Barnett takes on Josue “El Guerrero” Rivera after Bedford scored a stoppage victory at BKFC 2 while Barnett earned unanimous decisions on the first two BKFC cards.

Quarterfinal action is rounded out by Joe Pegg facing Rusty Crowder and Abdiel “The Nightmare” Velazquez taking on Shawn “The Exception” West as they look to advance and move closer to holding BKFC championship gold.

“We’re very excited about the fighters competing in the lightweight tournament and the kind of fights fans are going to be able to see,” said Feldman. “Johnny Bedford and Reggie Barnett Jr, with their MMA, boxing and bare knuckle experience, have made themselves the early favorites, but I have no doubt that the rest of the fighters are hungry and preparing to make their own names in this tournament. This is going to be can’t-miss action round after round until one fighter is left standing.”

Since debuting in June, BKFC will name its first champion on Saturday night while also starting the path towards a new champion. As BKFC continues to grow and expand, this formula for finding champions will continue to produce dramatic action and worthy titleholders.

BKFC 3: The Takeover will be broadcast at 9 p.m. ET across the United States and Canada, exclusively on pay-per-view through MultiVision Media, Inc., on all major television and streaming distribution outlets for $29.95. Tickets for “BKFC 3: The Takeover” are available now exclusively at www.bareknuckle.tv beginning at $35. Prelims will stream live at 8 p.m. ET on the BKFC Facebook page, while Friday’s weigh-in airs on FITE TV at 5 p.m. ET.

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