Turns Out Thursday Is Alright for Fighting During the BKFC Fight Night

By on December 18, 2021
Photo-Jordan Raiff

9DEC2021

Seminole Hard Rock Casino Tampa, FL

Getting folks out on a Thursday night can be a huge challenge in Tampa. Yet with the Bucs on a night off, the Bolts in Toronto, and no concerts in town, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship had the stars align perfectly to pack the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center. With the ladies in some of their flashiest outfits, and the guys rocking the extra smedium T-shirts, it was time to toe the line!!

Photo-Jordan Raiff

Opening the card was Michael Stripling being welcomed to BKFC by Joshua Sikes. Sikes you may remember made his BKFC debut in Tampa back in July. This match started off with fans calling for Stripling to take off Sikes head. As if it was extra fuel to the fire, Sikes spent the first-round firing shots at Stripling, and he ate them up for snacks. However, by the second round, Stripling found his eyebrow having been split open, requiring a doctor’s examination. 

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

The third round seemed to wake both fighters up, as they came out firing on all cylinders. These exchanges left Stripling’s face leaking blood pretty consistently and was smeared all over both fighters. At the end of the fourth round, the exhaustion was incredibly visible on both fighters. Going into the fifth and final round Stripling was firing back looking for that knockout, but just not getting through enough to drop or really damage Sikes. 

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As the scores were tended Sikes Team took their sweet time cleaning the blood of battle off, as Stripling’s camp raced to get him cleaned up as much as possible. With the level of blood showing, I don’t blame them. It was too little too late; Sikes won by Unanimous Decision, and it was clear. Winner: Joshua Sikes by Unanimous Decision

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Second up in the prelim card was Stevo Morris taking on Jorge Gonzales-Rolon. Gonzales is a veteran of professional combat sports, however, for Morris, this was also his debut. Coming out of the gate Morris looked ready to fight but wanted to feel out Gonzales as his level of experience gave him a bit of an edge. While Gonzales capitalized on Morris’ unwillingness to commit to a move, his responses were a bit predictable, and Morris was able to adjust rather quickly. 

Gonzales was able to sneak some shots back though and level Morris back down as the round ended.

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For the second round, Morris found himself continuously fighting off the ropes as Gonzales kept dog-walking him back there. This was an example of that extra professional experience being crucial to knowing what to do in this sport. Morris however was ready to counter this when the time came. With 20 seconds left he was able to battle Gonzales and force him to take a knee. There is some debate about Morris catching Gonzales with a shot while he forced him down on the canvas taking a knee.

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When Gonzales stayed on the canvas as the ref separated Morris away, he hit the 10 counts before Gonzales would get up. While replay is available, it didn’t seem to be used as Morris quickly had his hand raised. Perhaps some stronger protest out of Gonzales’ corner about hitting a downed fighter could have helped? Winner: Steveo Morris by KO in Round 2

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The final prelim fight brought out even more debut fighters with Rynell Riley going into battle with Trukon Carson, and this is easily the biggest surprise of the fight. Sizing up the two of these fighters at the weigh-in, Riley reminded me of a young Mike Tyson and it seemed like Carson would only have a chance if he could drag it to the fourth round or beyond. God was I wrong.

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Coming out like champagne corks, both fighters fired at one another and immediately went for the clinch. Trading blows standing toe to toe, these two clashed like the old school boxing days. This is the kind of fight fans of the BKFC love to see. Nothing but ‘man at his most man’ (as Uncle Jimbo in South Park would say about boxing) was on display here. Just trading shots and taking damage. This went on for all but the last 20 seconds of the first round, at that point you could see how banging like this wears on a fighter.

The second round brought both fighters out nearly fully recharged, and with a nearly identical strategy for this round. The biggest change here was the attempts by both fighters to rip the other to the ground. Now this is normally a technique you see one fighter start with and they trade off and on with this, but not for most of the round. Considering the exhaustion on the faces of both fighters, could you blame either of them? As their pace slowed and time went on, the strikes were less damaging and much slower. However, they were more precise and more deliberate. The ‘sock and awe’ portion of the fight hand gone away.

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After a quick break, it was time for round three. With both fighters looking pretty broken up, they got off the stools again and went right back to trading blows. About 10 seconds in Carson ends up kissing the canvas. He was able to get to his feet in a reasonable time, but the ref called for a timeout. He motioned to the ringside doc, and the doc refused to let it go on; calling for a TKO stoppage. Winner: Riley by TKO Doctor Stoppage in Round 3

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At this point, it was time for the people at home to kick it on over to the BKFC app. Something from the opening fights had to carry over, and in this first fight, Joshua Ridge would be making his debut as well and standing in the ring with Jerald Gregori. Unfortunately for Gregori, Ridge came ready to throw down, and do it hard.

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

Coming out of their lines, Ridge locked up Gregori and dropped him immediately. Taking a few seconds to dust himself off, Gregori answered the ref’s call and was back on his feet. After a few extra seconds, they were back at it. Just as quickly as they were back at it, Ridge dropped Gregori. As he got again got knocked down and looked like he wanted to recover, it was clear he was done. The ref counted it off and Gregori stayed down. Winner: Riley Ridge by KO in the First Round

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

Second in the main card were Robbie Peralta and Pete Petties standing toe to toe. With a very simple and understated entrance for Peralta, the remixed ‘All I Want For Christmas (Is You)’ song and Joker’s Nurse outfit for an entrance Petties chose provided a nice contrast. After this elaborate entrance, Petties started with a more counterpunching-based plan, and Peralta wasn’t feeding into it. Despite Petties doing some fancy footwork, neither fighter could seem to mount a solid attack. However, both were landing sporadic but solid shots when they did connect.

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The second round found Peralta taking more of a stick and move attack to take away from the counterpunching and keep Petties off balance by not allowing him to get set up with any rhythm. This in turn kept neither fighter from producing any truly formidable offense. Round three found Peralta on the hunt, and with his advancing left and overhand rights, he could keep Pettis on the run. Petties found himself getting caught a few times, and Peralta landed some fierce shots that seemed to leave Petties stunned but aware.

Round four opened with Peralta getting a quick and thorough clinch with Petties that allowed both fighters to trade blows efficiently. While neither fighter was doing devastating damage, all the little impacts add up, and both fighters started to show some wear; especially Peralta whose cheeks were coated in blood. The final round hand both fighters looking to land that KO, but Peralta was able to press Petties into the ropes a few times and keep him firmly there. As the fight ended Petties was calling for the fans to get on his side.

Much to his surprise, the Tampa crowd showered him with boos, to which Petties started yelling at the crowd and shooting them the finder. As Peralta raised his hands the crowd came to life in celebration. It seemed as if the Great Value Floyd Mayweather’s style of fighting was not favorable with the Tampa faithful. They want guys who will stand there and brawl, and Petties avoided that like the plague. Petties showed off his face and tried leaving the ring as Peralta awaited the cards, and ultimately his unanimous decision win. Winner: Robbie Peralta by Unanimous Decision

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

The third fight on many main cards is a ‘popcorn’ match. Time to hit the head, grab a snack, or go have a smoke. This was not the case with Noah Cutter and Jordan Nash taking the squared circle. With energy so thick you could feel the air change in the event center as the bell rang, these two came to lock horns in battle. As they duked it out Cutter found himself hitting the canvas and a bit bloody pretty quickly. Yet he shook it off and battled back, putting Nash on a weakened defensive and that forced him to stumble as well.

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As the second round clicked in, both men showed the usual signs of being in a true bare-knuckle battle. The faces were bruised and swollen, having crops of blood, and they were breathing heavy as can be. Yet Nash came out with a plan to try and lock up Cutter frequently and force him to trade blows. Unfortunately, Cutter kept getting tagged in the head and neck, as Nash proved to have some very fast hands. Defending the attach off wore down on Cutter, and the round ended with both fighters looking exhausted.

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Round three featured one insane right hand straight down the pipe that seemed to stun Cutter, and bust him a bit wider open, but the two fighters just stayed trading sizing jabs (not connecting) for the rest of the round. In the last 10 seconds, Cutter finally launched a punch hard at Nash, but he managed to remain in the fight. 

Hitting into the fourth round, Nash is having to be protective of the left side of his face as the swelling has not gotten too much to bear. As such, Cutter kept pecking at it until it opened back up; this did not take very long. Mind you, Nash was firing his own shots and had Cutter leaking like a bad pipe at this point. However, with the fifth round coming up, these two had been pretty even so far. 

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As the fifth round started, Cutter notched a beautiful shot on Nash’s left eyebrow and it immediately opened up like someone popped a cork. As the ref immediately called for time. As the doc got to examine it, you could tell it didn’t look good. With little argument, Nash accepted that Cutter had split him too badly and would get the TKO. Winner: Noah Cutter by TKO Doctor’s Stoppage

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Up next was one of the featured bouts of the card, and the first female fight of the night as Jenny Savage took on Delaney Bailey. This bout features one of the movie stereotype opening rounds; both fighters largely trying to size each other up, but no solid shots are being sent out. Yet Savage still managed to get Bailey’s left eyebrow to leak by the end of the opening round. 

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The second round had more speed, but largely a lot of the same ‘size em up’ firsts. About 10 seconds left in the round, and Bailey nails a devastating shot on Savage’s left cheek. Round three featured more of the distanced punches, but now Bailey also had blood coming down her nose as Savage remained unbloodied. As the 10-second boards clacked, both started throwing more fists; all of which had little to no impact.

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Round four saw Savage step up the frequency of her attack, and the target placement. Bailey, to her credit, kept a solid distance and used her flexibility to keep away from most of the punches as she slipped in some counter attempts. Again, at the 10 second sound, both ladies picked it up, with Savage even becoming for Bailey to go even harder, but to no real avail. With the announcer doing his best to get the people back into this fight, it was clear to tell they had at least in part lost them. 

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The final round started to some minor applause as both fighters tried to get the people lively again. As before though, neither fighter was willing to turn this into a clinch drill, and neither could land visibly devastating shots on the other. Yes, their faces both showed the damage of the fight, the people just wanted more. Predictably, in the last 10 seconds, both fighters came back to life. It was a minor attempt to sway the judges, but this had been a soft fight. When Savage got the split decision the fans were NOT happy. Winner: Jenny Savage by Split Decision

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In the featured fight of the night, Dave Mundell battled with Stanislav Grosu. Calling this a battle isn’t fair. This was a violent bloody war of attrition, and it’s a wonder both men lasted this long. Grosu had a bit better targeting in the first round, as he drew first blood with Mundell leaking nicely from the eyebrow. However, in the second round, Mundell came out like a man possessed. Keeping Grosu in the ropes multiple times helped soften him up. Numerous times it looked like Grosu was going down, but he kept up.

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The third round got a delay from the very start, as the Doc wanted to see what the corner had done with Mundell’s brow. After his inspection, the fight was allowed to continue. Grosu did the smart thing and targeted the area, and Mundell did a solid job defending from these strikes. Within the fourth round, you could see the damage starting to show on both fighters, and both fighters being more cautious of how and where they moved. As Mundell started settling in further, he started to attack more, but it wasn’t incredibly outside the final seconds. 

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

The fifth and final round found Mundell pressing Goru against the ropes with vigor and anger. As the two battled for position, Mundell was forced away by the ref but never stopped pushing and throwing blows. The Unanimous Decision was something both fighters knew Mundell had coming to him, and he earned it. Winner: Dave Mundell by Unanimous Decision

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

Co-Main events are always great at BKFC, and with the unofficially-official Tampa resident or Tampena Tay Starling putting her 3-0 record on the line to welcome Hannah Guy to BKFC. With Guy just off a recent MMA win against a very fresh fighter, it would be interesting to see how she fared against a Veteran like Starling. As the bell rang to start the fight, Guy followed Starling’s lead and charged the center of the right to trade blows. Within the first 30 seconds, each fighter had eaten 5 solid shots to the face (not just body shots). Each had suffered NO knockdowns in the first round as well. This was any lady’s fight!!

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Starling looked to tighten the gap in the second round, and Guy did everything she could to cut it off and move away. Much like her last fight though, Starling kept advancing and pivoting; always looking for a new place to slip in. In the last seconds, Starling slipped in a left that nailed Guy in the right eye and left her visibly shaken up from that shot. Whatever was hit was hurt. In the third round, both kept fighting, but both also showed tremendous composure to keep in their fight plans and kept trying to open and close holes as they discovered them. With the blood flowing freely and the swelling settling in on both fighters, it was going to be a brutal bout for sure.

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Round four saw Guy slipping in some awkward shots as she got Starling on the ropes, but no call, no complaint, no problems. This strategy continued through the fight, and Starling ended the round with a bloody ear from Guy’s wrap separating the tragus of the ear. Thankfully a solid fix, and she’ll be ok. 

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

Ending the fight after just five rounds is criminal when it’s this poetic. With Guy coming out strong again, she looked like a potential favorite to take it on the cards if it went there. As she kept the attack up, Starling kept the counter punching and the footwork going the right way. This kept her in control of much of the round, as well as the others. As such Taylor Starling takes the Unanimous decision. These ladies put on endurance and differing styles fight not seen often enough in BKFC!! Winner: Taylor Starling by Unanimous Decision

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The final bout of the night put Martin Tay Brown against Bobby Taylor, and these two had fans ready to brawl. This energy was present in the ring as they traded shots and chased each other nearly consistently till the final seconds of the round. This is where Brown landed a brutal shot on Taylor’s left cheek. This dropped Taylor quickly, but he was able to recover and get cleared in time. 

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The second round carried the same intensity in the room, and between the fighters. Albeit they were moving slightly slower and more targeted with their shots, there weren’t any significant increases in damage or devastating shots here. It was almost as if they had flip-flopped the rounds if you were watching it on replay.

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Round three found Brown working back to the inside on Taylor again. This same opening strategy worked well then, so why not? Instead of finding that success again, he instead was able to deliver some short and fast flurries and get Taylor back down to the canvas. While he made a prompt recovery, he found himself getting knocked back down from a solid straight shot from Brown. As both men were not showing some new blood, the round ended with a chorus of cheers.

Photo-Jordan Raiff

The fourth round is for many the hail mary round. If you know you are down in the cards, you start trying to get your timing for that KO shot that might save you in the fifth. Taylor on the other hand went to a more conservative and defensive role; as if he had done enough to lock up the win, and just wanted to coast. Safe to say Brown had other plans. As he kept looking for that drop shot, Taylor kept avoiding it and staying alive. However it was wearing heavily on Taylor, and it wasn’t until the last 25 seconds that Taylor even got a moment over on Brown. Those moments would be short-lived with the final round on deck.

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

As both fighters went back to their corners for the end of the fight, both looked ready to go all out this round, as both realized they each had a case to make for the W. As both men again stepped right back into battle, Taylor caught Brown with a sweeping hook, forcing him into the ropes for a short bit to keep him upright. Brown kept countering and moving back as he had all fight. At the end that was enough for the judges, as Brown got a Unanimous Decision. Winner Martin Brown by Unanimous Decision.

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As always BKFC has its fair share of celebrities who show up. Boxing legends like Riddick Bowe and Antonio Tarver were ringside. BKFC fighters Luis Palomino, Tyler Goodjohn, Mike Perry, and Julian Lane were floating around too. With Lane attacking ‘Platinum Pussy or Platinum Perry’ Mike Perry as Perry sat at the commentator’s table with Chris Lytle and Sean Wheelock.

Photo-Jordan Raiff
Photo-Jordan Raiff

Tossing papers at his fellow UFC alumn, it seems like Lane is ready to welcome Perry to BKFC after his fight on January 29th in Jackson, MS. The first BKFC of 2022 looks to be a banger, just like the last stateside BKFC of 2021 was.

Seminole Hard Rock Casino Tampa, FL

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