Andrei Arlovski, 47, won his trilogy fight with Ben Rothwell, 44, on Saturday at BKFC KnuckleMania 6, claiming bare-knuckle boxing’s heavyweight championship at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Arlovski had fought Rothwell twice before in MMA, winning a decision and by knockout. And this weekend he ensured it was three times the charm as he looked a level above Rothwell, beating him to the punch, landing more powerful shots, and forcing his rival to wear a mask of blood as early as the second round.
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Though Rothwell had enjoyed a late-career in BKFC as its heavyweight champion, he looked far more sluggish on Saturday, and boxed as if in slow-motion. Arlovski took advantage of that in each and every round, landing straight right hands and one-twos, over and over, which was more than enough to outclass Rothwell until a time-out in the third
The time-out never looked good.
Rothwell had a large, V-shaped cut on his forehead, blood everywhere, and so when the ringside physician wiped his face clean, and said the blood wasn’t coming from his forehead, it was clear they were more concerned about his eye. There was bruising on one side, and pooling of blood above, compromising his vision.
It was all over. Arlovski had done it in just his second fight in the organization. He’d toppled the king.
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Arlovski’s victory wasn’t the only landscape-shifting result at the KnuckleMania 6 event. In the co-main, Lorenzo Hunt showed there was plenty of combat life in the old dog yet as the former pound-for-pound ruler defeated BKFC’s current king, David Mundell, by fourth-round domination.
The effect could be seismic.
Mundell has been campaigning for a fight against Mike Perry for a long while, but Hunt may have ripped that away from him. After his knockout win over Josh Dyer, and now Mundell, Hunt vs. Perry could be the ultimate BKFC event as it would be for pound-for-pound bragging rights, a championship belt, and, perhaps most importantly, the King of Violence moniker.
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Keep scrolling for the full results, highlights, and Uncrowned’s blow-by-blow coverage.
Main Card
Heavyweight championship: Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell via third-round KO
Cruiserweight: Lorenzo Hunt vs. David Mundell def via fourth-round KO [watch highlights]
Middleweight: John Garbarino def. Kaine Tomlinson Jr. via fifth-round KO
Lightweight: Ben Bonner def. Tony Soto by UD (49-46, 48-47, and 49-46)
Heavyweight: Patrick Brady def. Bear Hill by UD (50-42, 50-41, and 49-43)
Women’s bantamweight: Jade Masson-Wong def. Crystal Pittman via UD (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Middleweight: Mike Richman def. Joe Elmore via MD (47-47, 48-46, 49-45)
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Featherweight: Pat Sullivan def. Felony Charles Bennett via second-round TKO
Middleweight: Cody Russell def. Harrison Aiken via second-round TKO (1:26)
Lightweight: Zedekiah Montanez def. Brandon Meyer via second-round KO (1:59) [watch highlights]
Bantamweight: Phil Caracappa def. Noah Norman via fourth-round DQ (late punches) (:40)
Prelims
Cruiserweight: Lex Ludlow def. Zach Calmus by UD (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Middleweight: Prince Nyseam def. Brett Shoenfelt by UD (30-25, 30-25, 30-25) [watch highlights]
Bantamweight: Joshua Oxendine def. Travis Thompson by UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Live coverage is over56 updates
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:32 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Not long after Andrei Arlovski lifted the BKFC heavyweight title aloft, the commentator asks if he’ll fight Leonardo Perdomo — known as a bare-knuckle Mike Tyson because of his age and penchant for first-round knockouts!
Arlovski says he’ll take time to reset after the Rothwell fight but, man, that could be a banger. Sheesh!!!
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:27 PM PST
Alan Dawson
The lasting image of this fight is a V-shaped cut on the middle of Rothwell’s forehead, leaking, blood all over his face. A ringside physician wipes his blood-soaked face in front of the referee and they realize it’s not the V that’s causing the worst of the blood, it’s a cut around his eye. Here’s the kicker. We can”t actually see the eye because of both bruising, and the amount of blood pooling across that part of his face. He was never going to be allowed to continue.
Arlovski had done it.
A knockout not with Rothwell on the ground, but simply unable to continue. A great performance from Arlovski!!!
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:23 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Rothwell starts the second with a solid counter right hand. Arlovski powers a right hand through Rothwell’s face. AND AGAIN! That right hand is a nuisance weapon — my Gosh. Rothwell fences but he’s fighting in slow-motion, and cut from his scalp, compared to the free-flowing Arlovski. One-two from Arlovksi. Rothwell now has a mask of blood. Rothwell now on wobbly legs … can he get a knockdown?! There’s the bell!!!
Round 2: 20-18 — Arlovski
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:19 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Stance-wise already suggests Arlovski eyes openings and sure enough he lands a right hand and sends Rothwell back to the ropes, before he bouncing off them like a WWE wrestler! There was little pace and little action and then BANG! The commentator suggests Rothwell may actually be intimidated, judging from his posture. And Arlovski isn’t giving him a moment’s respite. Huge round from the challenger!
Round 1: 10-9 — Arlovski
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:16 PM PST
Alan Dawson
If that co-main wasn’t epic enough, we’ve still got two MMA heavyweights ready to slug it out without gloves — a trilogy fight — between Andrei Arlovski and Ben Rothwell!
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:09 PM PST
Alan Dawson
David Mundell was ALWAYS seen as the guy to give Mike Perry his biggest BKFC challenge. He called for it himself, to Uncrowned columnist Alan Dawson. And it always seemed Mundell vs Perry could happen before Mundell vs Hunt. But now we’ve had the latter before the former, and Hunt dominated Mundell, could we still see Perry against the winner? One thing for sure … it would be violent.
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:03 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Things pick up in the fourth with Mundell unafraid to hurl shots at Hunt’s midsection. And moments later Hunt pummels Mundell to the floor with a BRUTAL one-punch knockout! OH. My. GAWD! That man has a family!!! Hunt — you’re a bad man! A step-in lead right hand and Hunt re-announces himself as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet! WOW!
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:57 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Hunt with a right and a left and Mundell is down! The referee calls it a slip. Mundell takes control of the middle of the ring. Hunt adjusts his stance and Mundell moves around the periphery, looking for a way in. The pace has slowed and the crowd is booing but this remains a technical chess game, and it’s still edge-of-the-seat stuff. Mundell pops a jab. Keeps his head moving. AND HUNT SCORES A KNOCKDOWN! Just as Mundell looked to capture the round, Hunt scores a knockdown right at the end
Round 2: 20-18 — Hunt
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:55 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Lorenzo Hunt, despite his age, remains one of the most powerful strikers in all of BKFC — and it’s really a sight to behold.
Round 1: 10-9 — Hunt
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:48 PM PST
Alan Dawson
What the hell is this walk-out! Kanye, a massive Juggernaut seemingly chaperoning Lorenzo Hunt to the ring, smoke everywhere. This is big fight feel, folks! Man, I’m pumped. Lorenzo rules.
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:40 PM PST
Alan Dawson
“Let’s f****** go!” His cornerman screams, rushing to the ring to congratulate Garbarino, who had Tomlinson on the floor, like, 10 times, through a combination of slips and legitimate knockdowns. But, ultimately, in the fifth, the referee had seen enough and was just like, you’re done, dude.
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:33 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Ok, so Garbarino is in trouble with the ref for using Tomlinson’s motion to get him on his back and flip him to the floor. Can’t do that in bare knuckle! We may not have gloves but we do have rules, people! And another knockdown but the ref looks like he’s not counting. That one is clean, though! Isn’t it? Why’s the referee not counting here?? Replay shows Tomlinson might have already been down. Doesn’t count.
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:29 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Garbarino shovel hooks Tomlinson to the canvas in the second! What a knockdown, and what a punch — one of my favorite shots. And now another knockdown — the third of the night — as Garbarino, again, gets Tomlinson to the canvas.
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:29 PM PST
Alan Dawson
John Garbarino fights Kaine Tomlinson Jr. in the middleweight division.
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:24 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:04 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Ben Bonner out-struck Tony Loco Soto by 152 strikes to 105, and was more accurate with what he landed to what he threw, with a 63% connect rate compared to his opponents 55%. Bonner landed almost all of his body shots, too.
The results confirmed the stats, too, with judges scoring it 49-46, 48-47, and 49-46 to BONNER!
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 7:56 PM PST
Alan Dawson
An BJJ player, MMA fighter, and three-time BKFC fighter, Pat Brady retired with a win, as, after defeating Bear Hill by UD, he calls time on a multi-discipline combat career.
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 7:34 PM PST
Alan Dawson
… and the judges score it similarly to Uncrowned with scores of 50-42, 50-41, and 49-43 for Brady!
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 7:28 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Hill is landing his heaviest shots of the night, in the fourth round, after getting battered in rounds two and three! Has Hill gassed himself again?! He’s now on the floor. He’s totally done. Referee is asking if he wants to keep going. He does. We’re back at it. This is a brutal, grueling fight. Hill’s corner need to pull him out.
Round 4: 39-23 — Brady
Sat, February 7, 2026 at 7:25 PM PST
Alan Dawson
Brady drops Hill again! And this time it’s early in the round and there’s time to either get a third knockdown in the fight, or push for the knockout. There’s life in the old bear, yet, and somehow Hill is on the canvas again! Referee rules it a slip. Honestly, Hill might just be completely gassed by this point. Brady’s landing some heavy smacks. Bear is done.
Round 3: 29-25 — Brady