McHugh Chases a Sixth BKB Title Against Champion Rolando Dy

Scott McHugh can become a six-time BKB champion on Saturday. "The Mute" fights Rolando Dy, the first Filipino bare-knuckle champion, for the BKB super welterweight title on October 10 in the main event of BKB 60, the promotion's first card in Newcastle.

McHugh has been in the sport for nearly 10 years, and he says the Trigon suits him. He is good in the clinch, he says, and he has footwork. His background includes Muay Thai, K-1, MMA and hybrid fights. In gloves he counts 19 wins and one draw, and he says he has never been beaten in them.

McHugh said his background and Dy's are very similar. He described Dy as a good kid, with respect on both sides. They plan to go fishing after the fight, and McHugh said he would like to go to the Philippines.

No judges

Both men want a finish. "He's there to finish me. I'm there to finish him," McHugh said. "I can't let it go to the judges, mate. I'm not saying that but with him being a world champion, I've got to take that from him."

He said he has a plan and will not predict anything beyond that. "It's until you get smacked in face first and you don't have no predictions," McHugh said. He added that he does not badmouth opponents, because the sport is a brutal game.

Lessons from a loss

McHugh pointed to his knockout loss to Liam Rees. He had not learned how to do a water cut back then. He weighed 70 kilograms on the day, with 71 the maximum, and Rees, a bigger man after a big cut, caught him. Now he works with a professional nutritionist who works with MMA and UFC fighters.

He likes the Trigon, a ring only a handful of fighters still compete in. He named himself, James Connelly, Marko Martinjak and, probably, Dan Podmore as the few left.

Gloves, he believes, cause more damage because a fighter takes many more shots. In bare knuckle, "you'll get hit with a clean shot, it's either lights out or you're cut." As for his own chin: "you're going to have to use a sledgehammer to knock me out."

Source: Cageside Press