UFC veteran Pearl Gonzalez books bare-knuckle debut against Charisa Sigala at BKFC 18

Former UFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez has booked her first bare-knuckle fight with a showdown scheduled against Charisa Sigala at BKFC 18 on June 26.

BKFC officials announced the pairing on Tuesday.

With a 10-5 overall record in MMA, Gonzalez will now shift her attention to bare-knuckle fighting after inking a deal with BKFC earlier this year. Gonzalez will be competing for the first time since February 2020 when she lost a decision to current UFC fighter Miranda Maverick at Invicta FC 39.

Gonzalez has gone 3-2 in her past five fights but this will serve as her first foray into the world of bare-knuckle fighting where she joins fellow UFC veterans Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich on the roster.

As for Sigala, she will be seeking her first win with BKFC after making her debut earlier this year at the KnuckleMania pay-per-view in February.

On that night, Sigala engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Taylor Starling in a battle that was hailed as the best fight on the entire card but she ultimately lost a decision.

Now Sigala will hope to bounce back with a win over Gonzalez when they clash in June.

The upcoming BKFC 18 card on June 26 will be headlined by four title fights including heavyweight champion Joey Beltran taking on Sam Shewmaker, Hector Lombard faces Joe Riggs in a cruiserweight title fight, Luis Palomino puts his featherweight title up for grabs against Tyler Goodjohn and Thiago Alvez battles Uly Diaz to crown a BKFC middleweight champion.