Hard-hitting veteran Cody East returns to the canvas tonight with a singular mission: to secure his path back to a championship opportunity. Competing at BKB Bally’s Fight Night in Biloxi, Mississippi, East is set to square off against former BKB heavyweight champion and bridgerweight title challenger Ike Villanueva in a consequential divisional matchup inside the Trigon.
For East, the bout represents more than just another contest on a stacked fight card; it marks his highly anticipated return to bare-knuckle boxing for the first time in over a year. Since his grueling, action-packed war against Jarome Hatch at BKB 42 last June, East has stayed active by testing his skills across traditional boxing and mixed martial arts. However, the allure of gloveless combat and the opportunity to rectify past mistakes have brought him back to the BKB promotion with renewed focus.
Reflecting on his return and the mental hurdle of avenging his previous shortcomings, East opened up about where his mindset is currently at ahead of the opening bell.
"Yeah, I feel great. I mean, I feel good to be here and get some redemption for mistakes I made in that fight," East shared in an interview with Bare Knuckle Bowker. "So, I’m just here better than I have been and ready to show that tomorrow."
The loss to Hatch remains a sharp memory for the seasoned competitor, not because he was outmatched, but because of how he handled the pacing of the fight. East candidly admitted that his aggressive instincts ultimately got the better of him when he was on the verge of finishing his opponent, leading to late-fight fatigue that cost him the victory.
"I got tired of beating him up truthfully. I mean, I fought a good fight, just overdid it a little bit, man. I should have slowed down and picked my shots a little bit better," East explained. "After I knocked him down two times, three times I was trying to press it. I thought the fight was going to be over when I dumped it and then he survived. Then after that, I was tired."
That valuable experience has forced a shift in East’s tactical approach inside the Trigon. Rather than relying solely on raw power and relentless forward pressure, he has spent his training camp focusing on patience, ring IQ, and calculated shot selection.
"So, just been working on being more disciplined and not everything has to happen instantly," East said. "Just taking my time, enjoying it, and it’ll come. I’ve just got to touch him a couple times and I’ll stop the fight. It doesn’t have to be right away."
When the conversation turned toward the broader philosophical takeaway of letting things unfold naturally rather than chasing instant gratification, East leaned into the life lesson behind his athletic journey. He acknowledged that the setback against Hatch was an outlier in what should have been a routine victory, viewing it as a minor detour on his road to the top of the division.
"Yeah, 100%. We all want instant gratification and sometimes it’s not instant, right? We got time to work and I was there. I shouldn’t have slowed down and put my work in," East reflected. "That’s a fight I can win nine times out of 10. I made a mistake. He beat me and now I’m on to fighting someone that beat him last fight. So I mean, after I win this fight, maybe we could run it back. I mean, I would like to fight him again and give him a proper fight."
The immediate obstacle in front of East is Ike Villanueva, a dangerous veteran who brings significant championship experience to the squared circle. Having held gold at heavyweight and challenged for the bridgerweight crown, Villanueva poses a notable threat. Yet, East believes that despite Villanueva’s impressive resume, the former champion has reached a different tier of the sport compared to where East sees himself today.
"I think Ike is tough. I think he’s a good fighter. He’s fought some really good fighters, right? He’s fought bridgerweight champion, heavyweight champion, but they all stopped him," East noted. "You know what I mean? He’s not on the same level as the pinnacle of the sport. I mean, he was at one point, but now he’s not. I feel like I am. So, I’m here to stop him as well."
While a dominant performance against a former champion of Villanueva’s stature would logically position East as the next in line for a shot at the bridgerweight title, the promotion has not officially guaranteed the opportunity. For East, however, the politics of matchmaking take a back seat to his willingness to fight anyone put in front of him. Whether it is a title eliminator or a matchup against other elite names in the division, his answer remains the same.
"They haven’t said that, you know what I mean? But if I knock out Ike the way I should, that’s no reason. But all they’ve got to do is send me a name and I’ll fight him," East stated. "I’ll fight Gustavo [Trujillo]. I wouldn’t mind fighting him either. Everybody tries to box him. No one tries to fight him. I would like to fight him. So I’m open to fight anybody from 200 to super heavyweight. So it don’t matter to me. You just got to send me the name, where to be at. I’ll make weight and I’ll show up and I’ll fight."
East has built a reputation over his career for producing unforgettable, highlight-reel moments that serve as prime examples of why fans are drawn to gloveless combat. When asked what drives his uniquely entertaining fighting style, East pointed to the distinct nature of bare-knuckle fighting itself, which separates it from traditional mixed martial arts where grappling and positional control often slow the pace. At the same time, he emphasized a desire to showcase his technical evolution rather than relying solely on his legendary toughness.
"I’m a good fighter, right? But I’m also a sucker for a bare knuckle fight. I mean, you don’t get to have that in MMA, right? Because people want to take you down, they grab you," East explained. "I’ve caught myself getting a little bit wild just in fighting. I don’t need to fight like that. If it comes to a point where I feel like I’m outgunned… then I’m gonna go back to that. But I’ve made some improvements and I want to display more of what I’ve worked to accomplish this."
With two decades of combat sports experience under his belt, East understands that fans appreciate grit, but true longevity and mastery in bare-knuckle boxing require a refined approach to distance and accuracy.
"I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I mean, there’s a lot more to me than just throwing hard punches and going forward, right? I can fight and I want to do more of that. I want to show a little bit more of my training, not just my toughness because everybody knows I’m tough. I’m entertaining, but take a break this fight and show some skill. Next fight we could bang it out with somebody," he said.
Summarizing his evolution into a more cerebral bare-knuckle competitor, East reiterated the importance of precision over volume in a sport where every landed punch carries immediate consequences.
"That’s it. Yeah, you got to be very accurate and it doesn’t take a lot, right? It doesn’t take a lot of shots. You just got to place your shots properly."
Cody East on Unique BKB Fisticuffs Technology and Who Can Turn the UFC’s Heavyweight Division Around
The upcoming event at Bally’s features a deep lineup from top to bottom, bolstered by notable names like Jarod Grant and Cub Hawkins. Reflecting on the talent assembled for the Biloxi fight card, East praised the overall matchmaking of the organization.
"Yeah, all the fights are main event fights. I mean, like anywhere else, they’re all good fights. So it’s not a bad fight on the card," East said.
Adding another layer of innovation to the event is BKB’s partnership with Force IQ technology, a system designed to track the striking metrics and output of fighters inside the Trigon. When asked about the integration of advanced analytics into gloveless combat, East offered a humorous look at where sports technology might be heading in the future.
"I think it’s pretty cool. I think it’s probably a matter of time before they’re going to fight and they have like a life bar like a video game," East joked. "It tracks your stamina and health like live action: the fighter. That’s what’s next I guess."
Joking about whether his own high-output style might overwhelm the digital metrics, he added with a laugh, "Yeah, for real. I’ll be on red. Be on red."
As a veteran of the UFC heavyweight division, East also shared his perspective on the current state of MMA’s premier weight class. Addressing whether the lack of promotional focus on heavyweights is simply a business decision or a reflection of the division’s historic volatility, East offered a grounded assessment of what it means to fight among the biggest men in combat sports.
"Yeah, it’s just how they run their business. I mean it’s easy sometimes to be a heavyweight, you get lazy too. So it’s kind of how it is with heavyweights. You get some of the worst fights right but you also get some of the best knockouts and stuff. So they come hand in hand at heavyweight," East explained. "I mean, you kind of know going into a heavyweight fight, you can go either way, right?"
"You’re going to have a hard 30 seconds, then you might have two fat guys rolling around the rest of the fight, or you might have a great knockout," he continued. "But with Josh Hokit coming to the UFC now, I think we’re going to start seeing more guys from the NFL, more guys from the NBA, more high level athletes coming in. I think it’s really going to change a lot of the sport."
