Cecy Ulloa is no stranger to being in bare-knuckle title fights, but this weekend’s bout with Andy Nguyen takes on additional layers of importance. The Puerto Vallarta native will be competing at BKB 59, which goes down in Tijuana on September 19th. The BKB Super Flyweight Championship is being contested in the co-main event of the night, and it has been more than 5 years since Ulloa last fought in Mexico.
When addressing this return to fight in Mexico after half a decade away, Cecy Ulloa said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“She’s saying that she’s very excited. That she feels that she owes it to her Mexican fans and to her people to bring this belt home. Obviously fighting on home turf is a big deal and that she’s definitely ready for it. She’s excited to show what she’s got.”
When delving into how much receiving the support of her compatriots means to her in this massive matchup, Cecy Ulloa stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“Cecilia stated that it’s obviously very important that she bring this home and make sure that the belt stays in Mexico. But for her, it’s more of being that trail blazer in Bare Knuckle Boxing. That it’s on the newer side of things. For her to be able to fight for this belt and to open the door for other athletes would be amazing. So she’s looking at it in the [sense of] being a trail blazer more than anything.”
A victory here would also make Cecy Ulloa the second Mexican woman to capture bare knuckle gold behind the prolific Paty Juarez. That would certainly put her in rarefied air and the promotion’s recent Zanfer partnership looks to build toward multiple Mexico cards hereafter. The Mexican boxing powerhouse is providing infrastructure and logistics pieces for this Tijuana card on Saturday.
Ulloa was previously part of a big fight in the modern era of bare knuckle when she fought Bec Rawlings in a title bout at BKFC 4. When asked how much she has seen bare-knuckle grow since that fight in 2019 with Rawlings, Ulloa quipped [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“She’s seen obviously great advancement in the sport that when she fought Bec [Rawlings], she went in there thinking more that it was a boxing match and didn’t really know what was going on or what she was doing. But as the sport has grown and as she’s participated, she now knows that there is a certain strategy to bare knuckle boxing. You can’t go in there thinking it’s just another boxing match because it isn’t. She says there’s different ways to prepare. There’s different strategies, there’s different things that she needs to do that are different from boxing.”
“Now, she also stated that, in the past she’s been asked, “Why are you doing something or participating in such a sport that is so aggressive?” I guess what she’s trying to say is that it wasn’t as accepted in the past. But that now, as she stated, boxing gloves also cut, cause cuts, contusions. MMA gloves for sure do, right?”
“Bare knuckle is just another another sport where you’re going to get those cuts and contusions. But that it is a sport and that it’s now becoming more accepted in Mexico. BKB’s bringing more eyes to it and this show in Tijuana is obviously a big step in that direction. What she’s trying to say too is that it’s not the barbaric sport that people make it out to be.”
Cecy Ulloa says Mexican fighters have a certain ” je ne sais quoi” and wonders if Nguyen is ready
In the context of falling short in that BKFC title bout with Rawlings, when asked if a win here would be that much sweeter if she were to get her ideal outcome here in this BKB championship years after her prior BKFC 4 title fight, Cecy Ulloa said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“So she said that of course, first of all, it’s an honor to fight again in her home country for that championship and that she didn’t get the outcome of the result when she fought her first bare knuckle fight. That she’s been slowly working towards this moment and it’s taken a few years. But that she’s sure that this the belt will stay in Mexico this time and that she’s ready to go. She’s happy for the opportunity.”
Her next opponent, Andy Nguyen, fought for BKFC and BKB, as Ulloa has. When assessing the skills of the multiple-time King of the Cage atomweight champion in MMA competition, Ulloa stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“[laughs] She said that she hopes that Andy [Nguyen] is ready to trade with her because as a Mexican, we like to trade and she’s not going anywhere. Us Mexicans have that je ne sais quoi and it’s in our fists. So she better be ready for that.”
When asked if she feels like Nguyen will engage her in that kind of fight on Saturday night, Cecy Ulloa said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“She’s saying that she isn’t really sure and doesn’t really care what [Andy Nguyen] does. But Cecilia said she’s in to fight and she’s going to bring it to her. She knows what she has to do to accomplish her goal and get that result.”
This is not the only championship clash in Tijuana this weekend as Julian Fernandez is having a hometown title defense. ‘Pitbull Jr.’ aims to sink his teeth into one of bare knuckle’s most pedigreed legends of this era, Dan Podmore, as the latter aims to become a five time, four weight class titleholder in the company.
Finally, as she offered up her visualization for how she sees this victory over Nguyen transpiring in the coming days, Cecy Ulloa quipped [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“She’s saying that she’s predicting a knockout or a stoppage before the end of the third round. That’s what she’s prepared for and that she’s going to go for it. She feels that with Andy’s style that she’s going to be able to do a lot more, accomplish more in the Trigon, and get that result she’s looking for. The way she’s looking to do it, which is a stoppage before the end of the third round.”
