Reggie Barnett Jr.: “All hands in-all hands up!”
Tune in above to watch the entire interview with Reggie “Educated Hands” Barnett Jr.
On Friday, March 24, Reggie Barnett Jr. returns to the squared circle to defend his BKFC bantamweight title. However, this bout proves to be special as Barnett will be fighting on his own home turf.
This marks the first time the BKFC will not only touchdown in Barnett’s home state of Virginia, but the first Bare Knuckle Boxing event to take place in the mother of States, Virginia.
The Virginia resident and current bantamweight title holder, Barnett hasn’t fought in his home state in a lengthy 6 years. Not to mention, at the time, Barnett was competing in mixed martial arts, an entirely different combat sport.
That all changed when Barnett would receive the call to tryout in 2017 for the newly established Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Upon entering the organization after impressing the BKFC brass, Barnett defeated all comers who stood before him. All except one man who would be the lone competitor to defeat Barnet on two separate occasions to derail Barnett’s title aspirations, if only briefly: Former bantamweight champion, “Brutal” Johnny Bedford. Bedford, however, would go on and retire from combat sports all together in December of 2021, to which Barnett now says “He (Bedford) won the battle, but I (Barnett) won the war.”
Following Bedford’s retirement, Barnett would decisively defeat Jarod “Kid Gatti” Grant for the interim bantamweight title and take out Geane Herrera via unanimous decision in his following bout, thus beginning the reign of the newest BKFC bantamweight king, Reggie Barnett Jr.
Finally, returning to his backyard in the 757 to defend his bantamweight crown is something Barnett knows is special and wants to share with his fellow statesmen. “I want them to feel good from it,” Barnett proclaims. “For them to have some of that radiance of what I’ve accomplished and maybe possibly go out and do something great for themselves,” Barnett says.
He’ll be taking on the tough contender in Gustaf “Forehead Forward” Cedarmalm in front of a packed Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia come Friday, March 24. Although, at the time of our interview, Barnett was bound to silence until the bouts official announcement. Fans everywhere got what they had been waiting for at BKFC: KnuckleMania 3, as it was formally announced that Barnett would be taking on the tough Cedarmalm for his title defense.
“Normally the mindset is to beat me you gotta kill me,” Barnett says. “And now it’s like ‘You can’t even kill me because where I’m going to be at, as far as my skill level, my energy being right here at home.” Barnett simply says, “It’s going to be fun!”
“It’s going to be so much fun just to go out there and fight and just enjoy what I do and put on a performance for the people that I know and love and the people in my state who maybe haven’t even seen or heard my story yet. It may touch them or help them reach out and touch somebody else,” Barnett elaborates.
Come fight night, Barnett is convinced he’ll remain calm, cool, and confident to insure that at the end of the night, he’ll stand proudly in front of his family, friends, and hometown fans, a Virginia-born and raised world champion.
“There’s levels to this sport, to life in general. You can be good. You can be great. You can be amazing. I’m working the mastery level…In every aspect of my life,” Barnett concludes.
Tune in above to listen to the entire interview with BKFC bantamweight king, “Eaz-E” Reggie “Educated Hands” Barnett Jr. as he joins MyMMANews to discuss returning home to fight after such a long time, his evolution as a martial artist, what it means to prosper with his family as champion from tough beginnings, and what fans can expect on fight night!
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