Yampier Ramirez has a easy view of combating, he needs opponents standing in entrance of him. That’s the reason the unbeaten Cuban bare-knuckle champion says he moved away from MMA and dedicated himself to BKB forward of his August 29 battle with Tristian Harrison in Miami.
Ramirez, 22, meets Harrison in an excellent light-weight bout on the BKB 58 undercard on the James L. Knight Heart. The Hialeah-based fighter enters with a 4-0 BKB report, all 4 wins ending inside the gap.
Yampier Ramirez Explains Why MMA Was By no means for Him Forward of BKB 58
“I wish to battle,” Ramirez stated. “I used to be in MMA earlier than and I couldn’t get out of MMA quick sufficient.” His subject was by no means with fight itself. It was with what occurred after he threw a punch. “In MMA, once you throw a strike, they all the time need to take it to the bottom. And that I don’t like.”
For Ramirez, naked knuckle removes that interruption. The BKB Trigon is a placing contest with little room to reset, stall or flip a tough change right into a grappling sequence. “Going toe to toe,” he stated, is the place he needs to be. “In BKB, it’s a must to take me out, and I’m going to take you out.”
Ramirez’s report helps the boldness. He stopped Kendell Ward within the first spherical of his BKB debut in August 2024, adopted it with one other first-round TKO in opposition to Trey Howard, then knocked out former champion Brandon Birr within the second spherical. In March, he gained the vacant BKB featherweight title by stopping beforehand unbeaten Ashley Williams in spherical two.
The promotion’s fighter web page lists Ramirez as 4-0, with wins over Williams, Birr, Howard and Ward, whereas exhibiting the Harrison battle as his subsequent project. It lists Cuba as his hometown and Hialeah, Florida, because the place he fights out of.
Ramirez additionally arrived with skilled boxing expertise. Earlier than naked knuckle grew to become his predominant route, he had compiled a 7-0 professional boxing report. His technical background and willingness to commerce have translated rapidly to the smaller, three-sided BKB ring.
Ramirez was born and raised in Havana earlier than constructing his profession in South Florida. He has described a tough upbringing, recalling shortages of meals and electrical energy, whereas emphasizing how individuals taken care of each other with what they’d.
He says he has been combating since he was six and credit his household and environment for giving him the push to proceed. His goal reaches past a single title run: he needs to characterize Cuba on the highest stage potential and believes the direct calls for of bare-knuckle combating match that mission.
BKB 58 takes place Saturday, August 29, at Miami’s James L. Knight Heart. Ramirez-Harrison is scheduled because the eighth bout on the introduced card, with the occasion headlined by Cuban heavyweight champion Gustavo Trujillo defending in opposition to Mark O’Neil.
The present additionally options Yuriorkis Gamboa’s bare-knuckle debut in opposition to Yesner Talavera, former UFC fighter Aspen Ladd in opposition to Bianca Daimoni and Alberto Blas defending the BKB tremendous featherweight title in opposition to Brandon Birr.
