Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion turned Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) boxer Eddie Alvarez lost to Jeremy Stephens in the main event of BKFC Knucklemania 5 this past weekend (Sat., Jan. 25, 2025) when his corner threw in the towel in between rounds three (watch highlights).
Considering how tough and how much of a warrior “The Underground King” is, fans questioned why the fight was stopped and if the former UFC champion ‘quit.’
Well, now there is an answer: Alvarez suffered a broken jaw in the fight, which ultimately led his coach, Mark Henry, to decide to save his athlete.
Check out the X-ray.
“Got hit with a kill shot in the first or second,” Alvarez wrote on Instagram. “I did my best to keep a Gameface and ignore it but by the 3rd round the damage was too much. Please understand how bad I wanted this and what I sacrificed in order to Win, it wasn’t my night. Bare Knuckle is as real as it gets. Unpredictable, Fast Pace and violent …. Congrats to all the new Up and coming Philly stand outs @cody__fights @teamgarbarino @theanimalbkfc @hevweightbrady on their wins . You Men are the Future and made Philadelphia Proud , I’m soo Happy for our City and the future of our Combat Athletes . Whether I win or lose is not as important as Philadelphia/Pennsylvania slowly becoming the most dominate Area in the country for Combat Sports . @bareknucklefc is the fastest Growing and will be the Greatest Show on Earth .. Mark my words. Thank you Philadelphia for showing out …
Alvarez, 41, is now 1-2 inside the BKFC ring and is looking at another lengthy layoff. The combat sports legend suffered two orbital fractures in his loss to Mike Perry in 2023.
As for his opponent, Stephens, he is 3-0 in BKFC and hopes to be booked in a fantasy fight with Conor McGregor, even though ‘Cocane Conor’ might be second-guessing himself after Stephens’ wicked power destroyed Alavarez’s jaw.
Because McGregor “TKOs people,” and when Stephens knocks people out, ”they don’t f—king move.”
For complete BKFC “KnuckleMania 5” results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.