Johnny Bedford Says Charles Bennett Matchup at BKFC 9 is a ‘Risky Fight’

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is back for its ninth show this Saturday. Headlining BKFC 9 is a rematch between Artem Lobov and Jason Knight. Also on the card is a matchup between Johnny Bedford and Charles Bennett.

Bedford is 4-0 in the promotion and has designs on becoming the face of the promotion.

“I think I am made for Bare Knuckle Boxing. I have been with the company since BKFC 1,” Bedford said to Sherdog. “I told David Feldman before I fought, I will be the face of the company as I am made for this sport. I think I have proven I was right. There was something about it and I have proved that I am really f—-ing good at it.”

Although Bedford is the organization’s lightweight champion, he will not be defending the belt. It was difficult to find an opponent for him until “Krazy Horse” stepped in to take the fight.

“I’m not defending the belt. Bare Knuckle calls their 135-pound division their lightweight division, but the problem is with the sport being so new and us just doing a tournament, there is no No. 1 contender,” he explained. “So, I thought that I am going up to fight in weight, but I wanted to stay busy and wanted a big fight against Artem Lobov. Ultimately, they did the rematch (with Knight) and they booked me against Charles Bennett. So here we are.”

Bedford knows this fight is a huge risk. He is the one who is well known in the promotion, while Bennett is making his promotional debut. Bennett, meanwhile, can go all out looking for the knockout, which the former UFC fighter says won’t happen.

“This is a big risk for me. Look, this is a risky fight. This is for a pay check, this is just keeping me in the leaderboard for most wins. I’m fighting a guy with nothing to lose. He will be the bigger guy, but he won’t overpower,” Bedford said. “Look, he is crazy and has nothing to lose. I have to fight a good fight. A lot of people tell me he will quit, if he starts throwing looping shots on me I’ll let him hit me so he can break his hand. But, I will win this fight and will do so by knockout.”