Gzim Selmani to fight Brad Lee in BKFC on Oct 17, TalkSport reports

Former WWE star Rezar—legally known as Gzim Selmani—is scheduled to fight Brad Lee in Newark, New Jersey, on October 17, marking his return to unchoreographed combat under Conor McGregor’s bare-knuckle banner, talkSPORT reported. The 270-pound heavyweight enters the squared circle following a March debut knockout victory over Dan Curtin, trading scripted professional wrestling for the unfiltered violence of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Transition From Squared Circle to Bare-Knuckle Combat

Selmani spent a decade across two separate stints with the WWE from 2015 to 2025. During his tenure under the sports-entertainment banner, he captured the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the NXT Tag Team Championship, and won the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic alongside stablemate Akam. That career path concluded following a backstage altercation involving a member of the Wyatt Sicks. Rather than pursuing traditional professional wrestling circuits, the competitor signed a bumper deal with BKFC, a promotion backed by multi-weight MMA champion Conor McGregor.

Conor McGregor was instrumental in bringing me to BKFC, Selmani stated, according to talkSPORT. He sold me and my manager Shane Watson the idea. He invited me to a show in Manchester, and I really liked it. It’s very violent. The sound that it makes when the fist hits someone’s skull. The adrenaline, even from just watching it, rushes through your body. You cannot compare it to anything else.

Preparing for the Newark Matchup

Maybe even some breaks in his face, and a big knockout. Once he feels the first punch, he isn’t going to want to fight me.

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