Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 51: Hart vs. Shah (also known as BKFC 51: Salem) will be a bare-knuckle fighting event held by Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship on September 30, 2023, at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia, United States.
Fight Card
Main Card
Strawweight Britain Hart vs. Melanie Shah Women's Strawweight Championship
Welterweight Dustin Pague vs. Joe Elmore
Middleweight Stanislav Grosu vs. Blake LaCaze
Heavyweight Bruce Abramski vs. Mark Culp
Light Heavyweight Ronnie Glass vs. Joseph Creer
Light Heavyweight Brian Maxwell vs. Harris Stephenson
Middleweight Kaine Tomlinson Sr. vs. Brett Fields
Bantamweight Rick Caruso vs. Landon Williams
Preliminary Card
Featherweight Cody Jenkins vs. Zachary Pannell
Featherweight Ka'Sim Ruffin vs. Daniel Fenske
Background
Batten down the hatches because it’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Fight Week – BKFC 51 goes down Friday in Salem, VA from under the bright lights at Salem Civic Center.
One of bare knuckle fighting’s brightest stars returns to the Squared Circle in the Main Event as Britain Hart defends her BKFC World Strawweight Championship for the second time against undefeated upstart Melanie Shah.
Hart has entered the Squared Circle more than any other female fighter in BKFC history, and she’s tied with Christine Ferea for most all-time victories among female BKFC fighters. Her 7-3 record comes on the strength of three straight wins. Shah has impressed mightily in her first two trips to the BKFC Squared Circle. The top British contender is coming off an impressive win in her stateside debut in August, and she’s ready to rise to the occasion against the fan-favorite Hart.
Friday’s Co-Main Event features two of the stacked BKFC welterweight division’s most exciting fighters – Joe “Hitman” Elmore and Dustin “The Disciple” Pague.
Both fighters are hunting for their third victory in the Squared Circle and hungry to make a statement before the new BKFC Top 5 welterweight rankings are released next week. Pague, a UFC vet, and the Bellator MMA vet Elmore have both proven to be allergic to boring fights, and they’re both deadset on that trend continuing Friday.
Friday's action also features an exciting mix of intriguing prospects and established fan-favorites, like Haris “Sandman” Stephenson, Blake "Big Boy" LaCaze, Stanislav Grosu and Ka’Sim “Caution” Ruffin, amongst others.
