Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships (BKFC) has acquired some new talent.
On Thursday evening, the promotion announced the signing of former UFC and Invicta FC fighter, Pearl Gonzalez to a multi-fight deal. Her debut is expected to be at an upcoming event in Miami, FL currently scheduled for May 21. Details on an opponent and weight class have not been revealed at this time.
Gonzalez took to social media to confirm the news.
“I’ve officially signed with [Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships] and I will be fighting in Miami on May 21!,” wrote Gonzalez. “I made the biggest sacrifice of my life, packed up everything and moved to Brooklyn, New York permanently to train with the greatest female boxer in the world, [Amanda Serrano]. I promise to dedicate my life to becoming the next BKFC World Champ and couldn’t be happier to start this new chapter in my life!”
Gonzalez has competed in mixed martial arts for more than a decade. The 34-year-old Chicagoan got her start fighting under promotions such as Ring of Combat and Xtreme Fighting Championships before her signing to the UFC in 2017. Her stint with the UFC was short as she was submitted by Cynthia Calvillo and defeated by Poliana Botelho at UFC 210 and UFC 216 respectively.
Gonzalez successfully rebounded from those back-to-back losses when she signed with all-female promotion, Invicta Fighting Championships in 2018. Earning wins over Kali Robbins, Barbara Acioly and Daiane Firmino which led her to a championship opportunity for the vacant flyweight title against Vanessa Porto at Invicta FC 34.
Unfortunately, an inadvertent eye poke from Porto would leave Gonzalez unable to continue and she would lose a technical decision after just four rounds of fighting. Gonzalez returned to the cage in October at Invicta FC 37, where she bested Brogan Walker-Sanchez by unanimous decision.
Gonzalez was set to fight again this past November for the now-vacant flyweight title against Erin Blanchfield, but was forced out of the fight after testing positive for COVID-19. Gonzalez later competed in both Submission Underground and Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds: The Female Flyweights.
Gonzalez holds an overall MMA record of 10-5.
