Philadelphia has always been a gritty city. Between their love of sports, cheesesteaks, and WAWA, the cityâs history is intertwined with love, passion, and even combat sports. You can track it back to the 1800s when boxing became prominent in the city. And you can see how it grew as boxers like Mickey Walker won world titles in the 20th century. After him came Olympic Gold Medalist, Joe Walker, and after that, the legacy continued with Bernard Hopkins. Certainly, youâve heard of the Rocky movie series and the statue at the top of the art museum steps in the heart of the cityâŠ
Fast forward to the present day and you can find how combat sports has expanded significantly throughout Philly. A lot of the MMA and boxing gyms have popped up and expanded to surrounding areas of the mid-Atlantic region. With stars like Eddie Alvarez and Paul Felder, Philadelphia has produced UFC greats. But the sport there is only growing.
Now, bare-knuckle boxing takes center stage.
The Home Team
On January 25th, BKFC takes over Philadelphia. They are bringing legends and surging prospects to the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. At the top of the card, Eddie Alvarez will fight fellow UFC alum, Jeremy Stephens.
Fighters from Pennsylvania include Dustin Pague, Travis Thompson, Noah Norman, and Zachary Parnell. But Philadelphiaâs own is the heart and soul of this card⊠Led by Eddie Alvarez, there are 6 fighters in total: John Garbarino, Pat Sullivan, Zedekiah Montanez, Cody Russell, and Joey Dawejko.
At KnuckleMania 5, weâll see boxers, MMA fighters, and kickboxers. On Saturday night, theyâll look to show and prove that Philadelphia is the hub for combat sports.
Eddie Alvarez
In the main event, Philadelphiaâs own, âThe Underground Kingâ Eddie Alvarez will scrap with Jeremy âLil Heathenâ Stephens. Each man will be entering their third BKFC match, but bring in 88 professional MMA fights in total. Blood will be shed and excitement will transpire. As for the trash-talking⊠It has already begun thanks to the first press conference on December 3rd, 2024.
The Philly Boys
Moving forward, the card has a Philadelphia native and a former pro boxer, Joey âTankâ Dawejko. He makes his BKFC debut against Steven âPandaâ Banks. Cody Russell makes his promotional debut against Logan Tucker. He is hot prospect on the rise touting a 2-0 MMA record and going 1-0 in boxing so far.
In addition, Zedekiah Montanez, an undefeated MMA fighter from Northern Philadelphia, faces off against Brandon âBeastmodeâ Meyer. Pat Sullivan makes his BKFC debut against Kaine Thomlinson Jr. in what promises to be a brawl. Sullivan has already proclaimed heâll be a future BKFC champion. Lastly, John Garbarino makes his Bare-Knuckle debut when he looks to get past Apostle Spencer.
KnuckleMania 5 is rapidly approaching and is already an early contender for card of the year. If you want to tune in from home, you can find the prelims on Fubo Sportsâ YouTube channel. The main card will stream live on DAZN.
