BUTTE - There were high-flying motorcycle jumps, music, and fighting in Butte this weekend with the first "Brawls and Kickstart Days" festival.
The organizer wanted to hold this kind of event after Butte lost Evel Knievel Days and postponed the Montana Folk Festival.
“It’s very important to have festivities in the Mining City, you know, it’s a big part of who we are and what we are, but also to have some different—a different taste, a different flavor, that’s what Butte America is,” said event organizer Monty Klistoff.
Nitro Circus Riders, including Butte’s own Levi Renz, were doing freestyle jumps during the event. There was also live music each night and seven bouts of bare-knuckle boxing, the first time this sport has been featured here since the early days of Butte.
“It all started in Ireland, that’s kind of where the origins came from, so I just kind of thought it was important to come out with an event similar to this on this stage and kick it off here in Butte,” said Klistoff.
The event featured local fighters and those from around the country.
“I’m excited, it’s a different style of fighting, obviously, so it’s hard to gauge how you train from something like this, but I’m excited for it,” said Anaconda fighter Thomas Allison.
And while it takes a lot of courage to jump those motorbikes, it took an awful lot of courage to climb into the bare-knuckle ring.
“Anybody who comes to a fight, they don’t want to see all the boring stuff, the grappling, smarting fighting, they want to see throwing rights and lefts and they want to see blood,” said Allison.
And in bare-knuckle boxing, you’re going to see some blood?
“You’re absolutely going to see blood there. Probably with every fight,” said Allison.
The event ran Friday and Saturday at the Butte Depot.
