Sabah Homasi falls to 1-2 in the BKFC after hitting Leonel Carrera with an illegal strike
Eleven months after suffering his first loss, Homasi returned on the main card of BKFC 87, looking to rebound against local fighter Leonel Carrera. The fight got off to the quick start everyone had hoped for, with both fighters doing damage to each other before Homasi ended it in the second round with a thudding spinning backfist that broke Carrera's nose.
The only problem was that spinning backfists are illegal in boxing, gloves or not. Instead of a highlight-reel knockout, Homasi went home with a disqualification loss, despite splitting Carrera open. The disqualification drops Homasi to 1-2 in BKFC, a disappointing start for a fighter who appeared to be made for the sport. The 37-year-old transitioned to bare-knuckle boxing after compiling a meager 17-12 MMA record, though he quickly became a fan favorite for his all-out brawling style during his stints with the UFC and Bellator. The result visibly frustrated Homasi, who fell victim to his old MMA habits. 'The Sleek Sheik' took nearly a full year off after his last loss to hone his bare-knuckle skills and re-emerged at BKFC 87 with longtime friend and American Top Team teammateConversely, Carrera improved to 3-2 with the win, including 3-1 in his last four fights. The lifelong martial artist has fought exclusively in Florida since making his BKFC debut in April 2022 and has won all three of his fights as an underdog.Homasi's loss led to a wide array of reactions from combat sports fans. Some argued that the strike should be legal in a sport as brutal as bare-knuckle boxing, while others approved of Homasi's disqualification."Spinning backfist prolly shouldn't be illegal in this sport, but I feel you," @NotShakeCarter tweeted. Stealthsamurai2 wrote: "It's an illegal blow period. It's you're responsibility as a fighter to know the rules and he broke the rules period.""In BARE KNUCKLE F***ING BOXING????" wrote s@slapdaddy69. While the specific terms of Homasi's contract remain confidential, he likely has at least one more opportunity to prove himself in the sport. The New Jersey native has only fought three times in the 15 months since he made his BKFC debut in December 2024.JAREN KAWADA Jaren Kawada is a combat sports writer who specializes in betting, with over five years of experience in boxing and MMA. When he is not covering the sport, Kawada is an avid MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing practitioner. Kawada has previous bylines with ClutchPoints, Sportskeeda MMA, BetSided and FanSided MMA. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kawada has a B.A. in Sports Media from Butler University and now resides in Denver, Colorado.
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