Since 2018 BKFC has been bringing action-packed bare-knuckle fighting to people across the globe. During that time Florida has become an epicenter of sorts for their events. While the Tampa area has been hosting many of their cards, Miami has been getting their fair share, and on Friday, May 6th, Orlando got their first. Given the city’s status as the epicenter of family entertainment, this provided a great yin to the yang of the big-ticket theme parks.
Opening the prelim-card was Robert Armas taking on Travis Floyd. From the opening bell, Floyd took control of the fight. While Armas had very aggressive footwork and action, his punches weren’t landing quite on the money. Floyd was able to find success even on the backpedal as Armas charged him, leading Armas to end the first round already busted open.
Round two started with the same vigor from both fighters but quickly slowed down as both fighters took a more targeted approach. Armas continued to dictate much of the circling in the ring, but Floyd was able to slow things up with a small tie-up while working inside. He seemed very content to allow Armas to take the pace.
As the quick break was coming to an end you could see the concern on Armas’ corner for his cuts. They took great care of his eye, but his defense didn’t stack up against the precision targeting by Floyd. It’s rare to see a fighter being so precise with continuously lowering hands; especially while backing up. With Armas’ face leaking much worse, the round came to an end. Despite his corner working on it, the Doctor stepped in and called a stop to the fight at the end of the 3rd making Floyd victorious. Winner: Floyd by Dr. Stoppage/TKO End of the 3rd Round
John McAllister welcomed Idrees Wasi to BKFC. Opening up as the two circled around, they took a very traditional form in feeling one another out as they went. As the opening minute went on, McAllister kept pressing and locked up Wasi. After the ref broke the clinch, Wasi came away with a new tactic to work short shote as McAlister moved in. These short shots quickly caught McAllister got caught leaning in and went down. While trying to get up McAllister just couldn’t do it. The inside boxing that McAllister has been remarked on caught him this time, and Wasi got his first win. Winner: Wasi by KO 1:53 in the 1st Round
In the third fight of the prelims, Micah Mitchell and Ryan Reber made their way to the squared circle. Mitchell came out swinging and attaching the body of Reber. By closing the gap he was able to make good work of his concentrated power, but Reber was able to counter back with some fierce jabs of his own. As the opening round came to an end Mitchell started to work the head a bit more, but was still relying on the body shots.
The second round brought out both fighters going right back to where they left off. Rober was finding answers quickly to Mitchell’s body shot reliance and was able to make him miss consistently when going for the head. By pulling out of Mitchell’s reach often Reber was able to keep to volume up with his distance. The shots from Reber were finding their distance and had Mitchell split open under the left eye. When the last 10 seconds hit Reber found a quick flurry that sent out Mitchell’s mouthpiece. After the bell rang Mitchell’s corner called the fight as their fighter was unable tin intelligently continue the fight. Winner: Reber by Corner stoppage/TKO end of the 2nd Round
Opening the main PPV card is an important slot for any promotion. Daniel Alvares and JR Ridge were up to the challenge. Alvarez came out chasing Ridge around a bit as Ridge looked to work the feint he talked about in prefight conversations. The same aggression from his first fight was there for Ridge as he was moving in to negate Alvarez’s reach advantage. With both fighters pushing their strengths as the first round ended, they both had spots of blood leaking already.
Round two opened up with Alvarez trying to keep the fight extended to maximize the advantage of his reach, as Ridge kept dotting in and backing out past Alvarez’s reach. As the end of the round neared Ridge had his lip split but he picked up the intensity of his attacks.
Round three opened up with a bit more of a feel-out as both fighters looked to adjust their stance and game plan. While Alvarez started trying to copy Ridge’s strategy, any time he would go in beyond his advantage range Ridge would dot him for the decision. Closing towards the end of round 3 Ridge looked to have most of the blood flow well contained, and Alvarez couldn’t reopen much of the damage during the round.
Round four opened up just as fast and technical as the other rounds, with Ridge trying to force more of the inside fight to keep the angles working for him. However, Alvarez was able to reopen Ridge’s forehead pretty well and dropped Ridge with a right hook. Ridge recovered only for the ref to call for time to have Ridge’s eye evaluated. With the split now going to the eyelid, the Doctor ordered it stopped for Alvarez to take the win. Winner: Alvarez by Dr. Stoppage/TKO 1:37 of the 4th Round
In the fifth fight of the night, Sterling Lenz and Henry Williams knuckled up next. The reach and height advantage for Williams was evident from the get-go. While Lenz was able to go work the inside, it didn’t last very long. His fighting style was very rigid, quick, off-target and full of holes that allowed Williams to easily slip away. This fighting style works great for street fighting, but the experience, size advantages, and his precision jabs from Williams busted Lenz’s right eye wide open on the eye. The ref called for time to have it looked at as it was leaking like a faucet, forcing the doc to stop the fight. Winner: Williams by Dr. Stoppage/TKO 1:02 of the 1st Round
Gabriel Mota and Travis Lerchen made their way down the ramp next to showcase their skills. Mota came out targeting Lerchen and he quickly found his number. Lerchen tried answering back, but Mota ate the shots like a champ. The sweeping hooks and an overhand right dropped Lerchen who just couldn’t clear the cobwebs despite a long count. Pointing to his left eye, it seemed like Lerchen couldn’t see out of it. Mota’s punches were crisp and the overhand right from Mota echoed across the room with the flat packing sound you expect from a knockout shot. Winner: Mota by KO :37 of the 1st Round
Levi Costa and Gabriel Sanchez squared up for the seventh fight of the night. Sanchez came out looking for a quick attack, but Costa challenged that and knocked Sanchez silly as he went to the ground. After the mandatory 8-count Sanchez was ready to go but still wobbly. Costa took advantage of this and started landing some level-changing shots while working towards the clinch. Sanchez was visibly operating on fumes as Costa busted him in the face hard enough to make both sides of his face incredibly damaged., Despite trying to fight back, Sanchez couldn’t keep his legs under him and was dropped again, forcing Ref Chris Young to call a stoppage to the fight. While BKFC has no three-knockdown rule, getting dropped 3 times in 90 seconds isn’t good for the fighter, and Sanchez just was not defending himself intelligently. Winner: Costa by TKO 1:35 of the 1st Round
Warren Thompson and Art Parker was a fight that everyone was looking forward to as soon as they saw the weigh-ins. While these two were very complimentary of one another, their contrasting styles and fight IQ meant that this would be a fight you just couldn’t miss. Opening up the fight with a proper handshake before the bell, the first round started with the traditional feeling one another out. Thompson was visibly awkward for the first minute as it is so different than his usual combat sports experience, but he quickly settled into the pocket and made one hell of an opening round.
Round number two opened up with both fighters trading shots, but taking more of a traditional boxing style pace, and neither fighter inflicting much damage. Unlike the opening round, the second was much more tactical and pointed than the opening one. While there were some flashes of heavy exchanges to end the round, it didn’t open up much. Round three carried over much of the same seen in round two, but Thompson also settled into more of a traditional MMA style for footwork that kept Parker on his toes and moving around more than he wanted to. The duo explored about 98.75% of the ring as they moved around with nobody gaining a real advantage.
Going into Round four, Thompson was more in his element cardio-wise, and considering how he was dictating the pace of the movement in the ring, it wasn’t surprising. Parker wasn’t breathing hard, but he certainly was not expecting such a fast start from Thompson as the bell rang. As Parker tossed out soft hands, Thompson pushed them off and got his body jabs for the score. This set up a pair of overhand rights for Thompson, and forced Parker against the ropes and needing to cover up until he could force a clinch and break. Thompson took the break to look for an entry point, but Parker kept on his feet and kept his balance to avoid any extra damage despite Thompson’s consistent movement looking for a winning shot.
The fifth and final round-up with Thompson once again dictating the pace. Parker kept waiting to find a counter punch opportunity, but the volume of Thompson’s punches kept Parker awkwardly waiting to find an opening. As the round came to an end they moved around but neither found much to target. Usually, at the clack for the last 10 seconds, you see fighters going off on one another, but it seemed like Parker knew how much Thompson had outpointed him, and Thompson did too. With Thompson doing so much in the fight it was not a shocker to see him land the unanimous decision. Winner: Thompson by Unanimous Decision
Rick Caruso and Captain Jack Claffey were forced to follow the big guys, and they brought something special for the ninth fight of the night. While Claffey came out letting his hands go, Caruso was looking to land some bomb shots that were connecting but not nailing the mark hard enough to drop Claffey. The back and forth between the two was monumental, and Claffey started to find his rhythm as the round ended. Despite having cuts around both eyes The two traded shots in the clinch to end the round, with a few coming in after the bell sounded.
The second round brought a faster attack and found him grabbing up Caruso into the clinch where he wanted things. Caruso landed some solid shouts that brought up a lot more swelling under the left eye of Claffey. Caruso looked to avoid the clinch and to use a slight reach advantage to dominate, but Claffey was largely slipping the shot and started to find his uppercut as the round went on. At the end of the round, you could see some real damage on Claffey now with cuts above and below the left eye.
Round three opened with a sporting high five, almost as if to acknowledge the late shots both landed after the bell in two. Claffey continued his movements inside and kept his left shoulder rolled up to guard the eye. Getting back in the clinch, Claffey used this to unload shots on Caruso that kept finding their mark. The big uppercuts wore him down, and a nasty uppercut and body shot combos dropped. Caruso. Getting back up and allowed to go forward at the nine-count, Caruso was visibly shaken but in a daze said he could continue and wanted to keep going.
Claffey charged back in there and dropped Caruso again with another uppercut. Caruso tried but could not get back up. Leaking a good bit of blood, Claffey inflicted some serious damage despite his left eye being swollen almost completely shut. Winner: Claffey by TKO 1:15 of the 3rd Round
Jay Jackson made his return to BKFC to face Terry Janoski in the 10th fight of the night. While Janoski is 1-0 in BKFC, his first opponent wasn’t at the same level as Jackson. Coming out with some serious swagger, Janoski started with his hands moving up and down while feeling for a position. A left hook from Jackson dropped Janoski less than 30 seconds into the first round. This seemed to embarrass Janoski, and he got back up and kept his hands up while trying to rest. Jackson kept pushing the sweeping left hook and finding the mark. Janoski got them to clinch up and delivered some big shots of his own, but as the end of the round neared his right eyebrow started to have blood running down it.
Watching these two in their corner you could see how strongly Jackson believed in his game plan, and he came out looking to continue his fierce attack. His overhand and hook combination went too wild to start the round, but he quickly adjusted back to a more precise set of punches. Coming in very intently he kept the pressure on, and the leading left hooks got Janoski dropped down to the canvas yet again. The lack of volume from Jackson is usually a problem in bare-knuckle, but when he’s landing almost everything he’s throwing it’s a big help.
The third round saw Janoski looking to keep outside of the range of Jackson’s left hook. The problem was Jackson throws it with such a lead and step forward that it’s almost impossible to avoid. As the round went on Janoski found so better timing, but he couldn’t land anything too damaging. In the last few seconds, Jackson once again landed a huge left hook, but Janoski was able to stay on his feet the whole round.
Round four saw both fighters come out with a more serious demeanor to their strategies. While Janoski tried timing his right, the forward-moving left hook once again kept Janoski on his back foot, and Jackson kept pushing forward at will or circling back to pull Janoski in as wanted. With another longing left, Janoski stepped back and took a knee as he knew he couldn’t stay going full force.
The fifth round opened with two very contrasting attitudes. Janoski walked to the line looking to be in a defensive mindset, and Jackson was ready to go. Stopping the fight at the bell, the fight doc took a look at Janoski’s eye and gave it a good call. Jackson let Janoski lead the movement, and pulled him in for another left hook, followed by a two-punch combination that dropped Janoski for the fourth time. With blood pouring from his face, he just could not recover. Winner: Jackson by TKO :32 of the 5th Round
Julian Lane and Dave Mundell served as the 11th and co-main event of the evening. These two are well known and highly regarded in the combat sports world. Lane has been incredibly popular since his “Let me Bang” days in the UFC, and that saying has stuck around through his 11 fights in BKFC. Mundell is a 4 fight BKFC veteran and has a notoriously rough demeanor inside the ring. The opening round brought out Mundell slowing down the fight to make Lane have to think and move to find his shots. While Mundell was bobbing and weaving, Lane kept his head locked and moved around to counter the reaction of Mundell. With a slower first round, the Lane tried to pull off a quick bull rush just before the bell to no avail.
Opening round two both fighters brought back the slowed-down tempo of the first round. Lane started to try to time his uppercuts as Mundell would step or hop in to strike and pull back. The feint hands thrown by both fighters got some small reactions but nothing hard enough to encourage them to push their way in more. With 30 seconds left in the round the two locked up without any solid shots being landed. As they went to their corners Mundell had some slight swelling over his right eye but was otherwise undamaged.
Heading into round number three the crowd started to pick up for both fighters. Lane started throwing more jabs and hooks, but again without the win at all costs rhythm that usually accompanies his strikes. Mundell on the other hand stuck with the plan, working-level changes, and quick strikes to try and keep Lane off balance, and with 37 seconds left he was able to build a 4-shot combination off this motion. The left cross and hook without the jab gave him a surprise attack. With the clack for the last 10 seconds pulsing through the arena, Mundell charged Lane leading to a quick tie-up and some solid but not devastating shots from both fighters.
The fourth round is usually where fights are made or lost. Lane’s surprisingly calm demeanor kept feeding into Mundell’s plans and a left hook missed by Lane led in to the clinch and a break. This reset gave Lane a chance to get set to go for his patented attack, but it didn’t provide anything fierce to build off. As such Mundell was able to land some counter punches as well as some clean lefts that needed no jab to set up. The round much like the previous three was more like a chess match, and both fighters wanted to win it.
Going into the fifth and final round opened with Lane going for a stiff series of shots and slipping and falling down. Quickly back in Lane was able to get into more of his normal banger style of shots, and he busted open Mundell’s right cheek. This gave Lane a clear target and he started to unload more. While using this to advance his position, Mundell found himself having a slip of his own but getting right back in it. The final 10 seconds showed both fighters standing toe to toe and moving to try and find shots to slip in. After the bell rang Lane tried to get the crowd to start chanting for one more round. Even though Lane had a great fifth round, the ducking head movement, and crisp shots from Mundell in the first 4 rounds earned him a split decision 48-47. The crowd responded loudly in agreement with this decision, and despite a nice pair of gashes under the eye, his performance was more than enough to cleanly give him the win. Winner: Mundell by Split Decision
In the main event, Dillon Cleckler and Arnold Adam squared off for the BKFC World Heavyweight Championship. These two have storied histories in their BKFC careers, and each also has a large following. With heavy hands coming out in the first minute, Adams found himself dropped off a solid straight left that landed just under his nose. Recovering quickly, Adams got up ready to go as Cleckler looked to build on it through the remainder of the round. As the round came into the final 10 seconds Adams through some brilliant overhand rights and a left hook, with one of the overhand rights dropping Cleckler just before the bell sounded. Cleckler recovered and was cleared to start his time before the second round began
Round two opened with Cleckler and Adams trading incredibly stiff shots. Even the jabs were being thrown with such intensity that it would have dropped most people cold. Adams had the advancement and after missing a shot, Cleckler looked to capitalize on Adams with his hands down. Adams wasn’t fooled though and quickly answered back with an incredibly brilliant set of right hands that knocked Cleckler off balance. Despite going down Cleckler tried throwing shots but ultimately hit the canvas. With blood streaming down his face, he was unable to get up. After the bell rang Adams went and checked on Cleckler, and by the smile on his face he was disappointed to go out that way but was happy to go down swinging quite literally. Winner: Adams KO :34 of the 2nd Round
BKFC is on a roll for new events, with BKFC Fight Night Omaha coming up on May 13th. This card is packed with the kind of fights you would expect to be on their bigger cards. The Omaha, NE crowd is just as loud and into the fights as the ones we see in Florida, and the fighters go incredibly hard there. Don’t forget to check out their social media accounts @barknucklefc and BKFC.com.
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