Jimmie Rivera Is Focused on Bare-Knuckle Boxing Debut, but Doesn’t Rule Out MMA Return

It’s been more than a year since combat sports fans saw Jimmie Rivera compete. Rivera (23-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has been away from competition since February 2021, when he lost a decision to Pedro Munhoz at UFC Fight Night 196. After that loss, “El Terror” opted to walk away from mixed martial arts for a while and dedicated himself body and soul to bare-knuckle boxing. Now, the former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder will attempt to score his first bare-knuckle victory against Howard Davis on the upcoming BKFC 26 card that takes place on June 24. While talking with Sherdog, Rivera explained that his decision to leave MMA was due to the desire to test himself in both traditional and bare-knuckle boxing once again. Still, the Team Tiger Schulmann representative doesn’t close any doors on an MMA return in the future.

(00:00) Intro
(00:27) Talking about his daughter
(01:43) Preparing for a bare-knuckle boxing match
(03:17) Keeping his MMA instincts at bay in training
(04:25) Sparring sessions
(05:36) His expectations for bare-knuckle boxing
(06:37) Transitioning from MMA to bare-knuckle boxing
(09:00) Comparing his MMA pay to bare-knuckle boxing purses
(09:52) Talking about the UFC's offer and his decision to become a free agent
(11:02) His future in bare-knuckle boxing
(11:44) Leaving the doors open for an MMA return
(12:30) Trying traditional boxing again
(13:46) Picking his walkout song
(14:40) Sharing a message for Memorial Day
(15:46) Outro

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and he now covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.