Rolando Dy KOs Paulie Malignaggi to defend BKB title

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

A Filipino is still the king of the Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) super welterweight division.

On May 17, 2026, Filipino MMA star Rolando Dy successfully defended his BKB super welterweight belt after knocking out former two-division boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi in just two rounds at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

The match referee officially stopped the fight at the 2:17 mark of the second round after Dy finished Malignaggi with a vicious right hook.

From the get-go, the Filipino titleholder wanted all the smoke after pouncing on Malignaggi, tagging him with several one-two combinations while pinning him on the ropes for the majority of the opening round.

Malignaggi responded with clean right straights to regain his footing in the final minute, but Dy came back with a barrage of body shots to sweep the scorecards and go up 1-0 heading into the second round.

After taking some of Dy’s most brutal punches, Malignaggi thought he could go toe-to-toe with the Filipino, but little did he know that an upcoming avalanche would evaporate his hopes of snatching the BKB title.

Dy immediately widened the gap after flooring Malignaggi five seconds into the second round, leaning on a fake left hook setup, which led to a booming right swing.

Malignaggi showed he was tough as nails after beating the initial count, but the decisive defending champ smelled blood and scored the second knockdown of the fight with a barrage of right uppercuts.

For the second time, Malignaggi got to his feet and continued fighting, but his final dance ended after Dy hit him with a powerful right straight at the 2:17 mark of the round.

Malignaggi attempted to get up once again, but after failing to beat the mandatory eight-count, the match referee waved both hands, signaling Dy’s successful super welterweight title defense.

With the win, the son of former WBC super featherweight champion Rolando Navarrete improved his BKB record to six wins and one loss, while Malignaggi slid to one win and two losses.