The British are coming, the British are coming, well not all of them, at least not yet. The long awaited debut of Mark Godbeer with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship seemingly has hit another snag.
Last night, Godbeer was scheduled as a guest on The Cage Side with Christopher James Show, but just a couple of hours before airing, Godbeer pulled out. His manager Scott Farley of GOAT Combat Agency informed me that he (Godbeer) had a media obligation with BKFC that took precedent over any outside media.
No big deal as things like this happen, but then Godbeer messaged me himself. “I won’t be making the interview pal. I’m sorry but all will make sense soon. It will all become clear pal. Sorry to let you down last min I’m not about that”.
I totally appreciated him reaching out to me himself about the cancellation, but then it got me thinking. His manager said he had a media appearance that he was obligated to make for the promotion , yet he made no mention of it, even after I mentioned my chat with Farley, which made me wonder if there was more going on than I was being told.
Cage Side went live at 8pm with BKFC heavyweight Chris Sarro, and then Joe Elmore (165) and fellow heavyweight Bobo O’Bannon joined us, even though neither were scheduled to appear.
We were all having a good time, and then I asked O’Bannon, who is also scheduled to fight at BKFC15 next week in Biloxi to talk to us about his opponent Lewis Rumsey, and he paused for what seemed like an eternity. Also, at the beginning of his appearance O’Bannon came in on fire and told us all that he had breaking news, and then he said wait a minute, I can’t say anything. He then proceeded to skirt the opponent question when asked it again.
Now I never have claimed to be the sharpest pencil in the box, but things started adding up and my addition came up with the conclusion that Godbeer was out.
It could be covid-19, it could be an injury, hell, he could of signed for a fight in the UFC, he is in Las Vegas, and they may have needed a late replacement! I don’t think Godbeer is being deported, or anything as drastic, so it seems more than likely that he may have caught covid-19 which is not a big deal as many people including a lot of athletes have dealt with it. However, it does change the main event for next weekend’s show. Also, if all this proves to be true my heart goes out to Godbeer who has gone through hell and high water and quarantining and leaving his family behind in England and all kinds of things just to get to the United States to join Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship!
While O’Bannon neither denied nor confirmed that he is fighting Shewmaker instead of Rumsey, all indications are pointing in that direction, as he also wouldn’t confirm that Rumsey is his opponent.
If all this proves to be true, as I believe it will this will be a very interesting shakeup in the heavyweight division. Godbeer was expected to be in line for a title fight against current champion Joey Beltran if he were to dispatch of Shewmaker. So now if Bobo fights Shewmaker and gets the win, does he elevate to the top slot and get a title fight when all is said and done? Or would he fight Godbeer next with the winner getting a shot at Beltran?
If Shewmaker wins, does he get a chance to dethrone Beltran, or does he still need to face and defeat Godbeer?
O’bannon, in my opinion, will be the leading candidate to replace Godbeer, but there are other heavyweights on this card that the promotion could shuffle around. So while the one scenario I’ve presented seems to be the best fit for all involved, they could end up just throwing all the heavyweight names on the card in a hat and rematching everybody on the card that way!
I’m definitely expecting some movement on this story today as we are one week away from fight night for BKFC15 in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Christopher James has been in the MMA industry for 15 years, Working as a ring announcer for promotions like the XFC, Island Fights, Combat Night and Fight Nights Global during his career. Chris’ love for the sport and the athletes that partake in it led him to writing and doing face to face interviews with the athletes he admired and respected. Chris isn’t conventional by any stretch of the imagination, he has his own style, and takes pride in not being a “cookie-cutter” member of the media. Unique and sometimes controversial takes are what he brings to the table, forcing folks to think a little differently about the world of MMA. He also has a love for music as he has been a dj for 25 years and his love for music gets brought to the MMA world when he gets his guests to sing on his weekly show Cage Side with Christopher James which can be seen Wednesday nights on FACEBOOK LIVE, and soon via podcast.