Alex Terrible, the controversial vocalist for deathcore outfit Slaughter to Prevail, officially made his bare-knuckle boxing debut over the weekend, handily defeating Mukhamedkhan Ospanov in their bout during a tournament in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The middleweight match took place on Saturday (January 25th) as part of the Russian RCC Hard tournament, with Terrible having overcome Ospanov – who entered the match with a record of 1 win and 3 losses – in less than a minute.
A post-fight interview from the ring had the deathcore singer noting that he had “fun, for sure,” but Terrible was likewise “disappointed” that he did not get the chance to go a full three rounds with his opponent. Turns out, as Terrible quickly learned after getting jabbed by Ospanov in the opening moments, “getting punched in the face with bare knuckles is no fun at all,” so the fledgling fighter flipped on the offensive to end the match as fast as he could.
Clearly, that strategy worked. You’ll find footage of Terrible delivering a brutal, bare-knuckle beating down below.
While he technically made his debut with RCC Hard over the weekend, Terrible had spent parts of 2024 training himself to spar within the U.S.’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promotion, this including getting dusted in the breadbasket by UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov and incurring a gruesome hematoma on his cheek while sparring without headgear in November.
That said, Terrible explained that the real reason he hopped over to RCC was the paperwork. Specifically, none is needed over in Russia.
“I wanted to fight in [the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship] in December but they told me I need to have fighter license. So I decided to go to Russia and have a fight in [RCC Hard] coz in Russia nobody ask you for license,” he wrote in a celebratory, post-match post on Instagram, though he added that he is finally officially licensed for BKFC and ready for whatever — or whomever— comes next.
He added: “I respect all my opponents and for me it’s just a sport. I understand that a lot of guys will knock me out and shit but I’m ready. I like this shit. I want it. I want to fight more this year. But music is my number one priority so we will see.”
As for Slaughter to Prevail, the band currently have a handful of Australian and South American dates coming up between February and March, though they’ll be back on U.S. soil by July for appearances at Cadott, Wisconsin’s Rock Fest and Mansfield, Ohio’s Inkcarceration event.
You’ll find the full details of Slaughter to Prevail’s upcoming tour schedule here.