Bare-knuckle boxing is emerging as a thing, and its queen is former UFC fighter ‘Rowdy’ Bec Rawlings. Rawlings headlines Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships 2 on PPV in Biloxi, Mississippi on Saturday night. At BKB 1 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on June 3, Rawlings shone vs. Alma Garcia in what is believed to be the first state-regulated bare-knuckle boxing bout in U.S. history.
In 2013, Bec Hyatt posted a harrowing account of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her then-husband, sometime fighter Dan Hyatt. Hyatt denied her account, and some in the MMA community saw it as a he-said-she-said, in which discerning the truth was difficult, perhaps impossible the determine.
However, earlier this year a court in Australia has made it impossible to avoid the truth. Following a hearing that began late in 2017, Magistrate Sharon Cure found that all charges involving against Hyatt had been proved; the batterer is currently serving 14 months in jail. The case involved three women, although to her later regret, Hyatt was not among them.
After years of hiding, in 2012 Rawlings called local law enforcement and filed a report. She ultimately decided against filing charges.
When I fled and got away from him, I just wanted to be done with it,’’ explained Rawlings, 29, to Josh Peter for USA Today. He used to tickle my back and then punch me in the face and tell me that I didn’t deserve to feel pleasure basically, that I didn’t deserve to feel nice.”
He wooed me by treating me like a princess basically and then the emotional abuse started a month or two in. But the physical abuse didn’t start until the day I actually found out I was pregnant with his son.’’
Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate. So there was no fighting back. I tried. Absolutely I tried. But I failed every time.’’
Rawlings fights at bantamweight, some 60 pounds less than her then husband. But she kept training and started fighting professionally.
It gave me the confidence and the strength to eventually stand up and leave,’’ she said.
What happened to Rawlings didn’t break her, it left her stronger.
I’m in my happy place when I’m fighting in the cage or in the ring, because nothing is as hard and as horrible and scary than what I’ve been through,’’ said Rawlings. It’s given me the strength and the motivation to do well in the sport, but it kind of sucks what I had to go through to get that.’’
Saturday’s complete card:
Bec Rawlings vs. Britain Hart
Sam Shewmaker vs. Maurice Jackson
Arnold Adams vs. Joey Beltran
Kendall Grove vs. Bruce Abramski
Chris Lytle vs. Drew Lipton
Charles Bennett vs. Michael McDonald
Jamie Campbell vs. Dale Sopi
Reggie Barnett Jr. vs. Clay Burns
Robert Morrow vs. Michael Bissett
Diego Garijo vs. Tom Shoaff
Harris Stephenson vs. Jorge Gonzalez
Jimmy Jennett vs. Tony Lopez
Marcel Stamps vs. Brandon Martin
Christine Ferea vs. Ivana Coleman
