BYB SPOTLIGHT: IKE VILLANUEVA

The heavyweight champ makes his first defense attempting to prove this isn’t a one-and-done.

The cliche goes, “it’s better late than never” and that perfectly encompasses the journey that the current BYB Heavyweight Champion of the world has been on. His name is Ike Villanueva (3-0, 3 KO's) and he didn’t find his true calling until just now, at the age of 40. 

His combat sports journey started all the way back in 2008, in Texas, USA, where Ike grew up. It took him over 10 years and over 25 fights before he finally got his recognition. It came when he won the light heavyweight world title in Fury FC that turned into signing with the company he spent his entire life working towards, UFC. 

He told them he just wanted to fight and prove himself. He didn’t care who or where it was. So, right at the beginning of the pandemic, he made his debut as the underdog against a seven fight UFC veteran who was also on a 3 fight winning streak in another MMA promotion. Unfortunately for Villanueva, he lost. But it certainly didn’t slow him down. He would go on to fight five more times in the UFC, as an underdog or a pick em’ in every one of them, in a span of 20 months. He lost four of those matchups and eventually had to move on from the prized MMA organization but that’s not the point. He hadn’t found where he belonged yet and the lack of results wasn’t going to halt the activity. 

Just over a year after his last UFC fight, he signed with one of the biggest bare knuckle promotions in BYB Extreme and made his debut in September of 2023. Let’s just say that went a lot better than his UFC debut as he scored a first round knockout. 

Three months later, he was back in the “Mighty Trigon” against a former BKFC fighter who also had four bare knuckle fights under his belt. A step up in competition garnered the same result, a first round stoppage. BYB and Ike had seen enough. Two months later he would challenge DJ Linderman for the heavyweight gold. DJ also already had four bouts in the gloveless game on the heels of three straight wins under the BYB banner. 

This was a contract fight for Villanueva. A win would see an extension. A loss and that could be the end of his fighting career. This was Ike’s chance at proving to himself, he had finally found the sport that was meant for him. A chance to shine in the spotlight of mainstream bare knuckle in his first main event for the company. And it was also taking place on Super Bowl weekend, the night before the big game. 

Once the opening bell rang, what followed was some of the most brutal action you’ll see in a bare knuckle fight. By the end of the first round, Ike already had the champ cut. Despite both men landing clean shots through the next two rounds that had the crowd on the edge of their seats, the first time someone came close to finishing their opponent wasn’t until the fourth. It was also the first and only time as Villanueva caught Linderman early in the round and poured it on him. The pressure actually had DJ running away which forced the ref to stop the fight. 

Villanueva immediately dropped down to his knees in celebration and rolled onto his back in the centre of the Trigon, hands up in the air, as if to say I still got it. Eventually, his wife and kids would join him and even they were emotional. 

Post-fight, Ike took to the mic and called for BYB to stop signing unproven guys or giving them shots before they show they can handle the Trigon. And when he talks the talk, he walks the walk.

He got the win so of course he resigned with the company for three more fights and his first defense is on July 13th, at BYB 28, just five months from his title win, against Gustavo Trujillo (5-0, 5 KO's). A man who has proven he can handle bare knuckle with his 5-0 record across four BKFC fights and one BYB including a win over two-division BKFC champion Lorenzo Hunt. And oh yeah, all five were first round stoppages. Taking on tough challenges is what Ike Villanueva is all about. 

No matter what, he can always look at a sign he has hanging up in his house. A sign that quotes himself and reads “I love this game. They told me I’d never make it. Look at me now.”