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Joey Beltran’s run as a fighter with BKFC has come to an end.
The former heavyweight champion, who has now suffered three losses in a row including back-to-back knockouts, will no longer compete for the bare-knuckle promotion, though there are plans in motion to continue working with the veteran fighter in another capacity.
“From a fighting perspective with BKFC, Joey Beltran is done as a fighter with us,” BKFC President Dave Feldman told MMA Fighting. “I’m hoping he’s done as a fighter anywhere around the world.
“He’s a great guy, had a great run. But like I’ve said, father time catches up with you at some point, and he suffered a few knockouts in a row, and it’s something we don’t want to see happen anymore. So he’s definitely not going to fight for our organization anymore.”
Beltran was a mainstay with BKFC since the promotion first launched in 2018 where he competed on the inaugural card earning a split decision win over Tony Lopez.
The UFC veteran eventually went on to claim the BKFC heavyweight title with a win over Chase Sherman in 2019. He defended the belt twice with wins over Marcel Stamps and Sam Shewmaker.
Unfortunately, Beltran’s win streak came to an end with a unanimous decision loss to Arnold Adams. He then lost in a pair of brutal knockouts to Frank Tate and Houston Alexander.
While Feldman says that Beltran will no longer compete in BKFC as a fighter, he wants to continue working with “The Mexecutioner” in an ambassador role moving forward. Beltran’s wife, Britain Hart-Beltran, also currently serves as the BKFC strawweight champion.
“Being a guy that started with us and had the best fight of the night on that BKFC 1 [card], and all the great wars that he gave us, he will be a part of the organization recruiting fighters, helping to train some of the guys, maybe even doing some other things with BKFC,” Feldman revealed.
“He’s a great guy, we really, really like him here. He always came and fought his heart out, and he did everything he could for the organization. So he will definitely be a part of the organization, but he will not be fighting for us anymore.”