Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) made its Michigan state debut on Saturday at the sold-out Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant. In the main event, Grand Rapids, MI cruiserweight Esteban “Mohawk” Rodriguez smashed his way to 5-1 with his fifth stoppage victory under the BKFC banner with a first-round KO over previously undefeated Zac Cavender. Rodriguez floored Cavender twice before the fight was stopped just 70 seconds into the opening round. Rodriguez then took aim at Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara, the newly crowned BKFC cruiserweight champion in his post-fight interview: “Buckle up, baby! I told you I’m coming and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” Cavender, who represents Las Vegas, is now 2-1 under the BKFC banner.

 

Nathan “The Reaper” Rivera cruised to 5-0 by taking out Tommy “The Farmer” Strydom. The Atlanta product Rivera sent Strydom to the canvas twice before their 145-pound battle was called to a stop 34 seconds into the third round. Rivera, who entered fight night as the #3 contender in the BKFC featherweight division, called out fellow undefeated featherweight Edgard “The Dreamkiller” Plazaola in his post-fight interview: “I’ve called him out (before), and he’s been running. If you see him, there’s a cash reward on his head.” Strydom, who hails from Johannesburg, South Africa, is now 4-1 in the squared circle.

 

Detroit-born Joseph “The Dark Knight” Creer earned his second straight/ BKFC victory with a second-round stoppage over the previously undefeated Taylor “Ragin’” Bull in the light-heavyweight division. Time of the stoppage was 1:47 and it followed a pair of knockdowns by Creer. Bull, who hails from Alberta, Canada, entered fight night with a spotless 4-0 overall record. Creer is now 5-3 in the squared circle.

 

Holland, MI’s Erick “El Travieso” Lozano logged five knockdowns in his one-sided, unanimous decision over Tylor “Redbird” Sijohn in cruiserweight action. Two judges scored the fight 50-40 and one had it 48-42, all for Lozano, who is now 3-5 in BKFC. Sijohn, who represents Worley, ID, is now 0-3 in his BKFC career.

 

Livonia, MI bantamweight Justin “The Nightmare” Street upped his BKFC record to 3-2 with a hard-fought, unanimous decision over AJ “A-Train” Craig. Two judges scored the fight 50-45 and one had it 49-46, all in favor of Street, who’s now won back-to-back fights under the BKFC banner. The Billings, MT product Craig is now 2-3 in his bare knuckle fighting career.

 

Clinton Township, MI’s Mike “The Hurricane” Hernandez turned heads in his BKFC premiere by defeating “The Mexican Muscle” Antonio Castillo Jr., via second-round TKO in their featherweight matchup. Time of the TKO stoppage was 1:15 in the second frame. Castillo Jr., a product of Massillion, OH, was also making his BKFC debut.

 

Utah light-heavyweight David “The Sandman” Sanchez smashed his way to 2-0 under the BKFC banner with a second-round TKO over debuting Detroit fighter Terryl “Taj Mahal” Johnson. The stoppage came at the 1:19 mark in the second stanza. Both of Sanchez’s victories have come by stoppage.

 

Oleg Magkeev of Ossetia, Russia was victorious in his BKFC debut, stopping Eric “BrotherVibe” Westbury 13 seconds into the second round of their light-heavyweight clash. Westbury, a product of Washington, D.C., was making his BKFC debut.

 

Mattoon, IL welterweight Casey “The Lawless” Moses picked himself up off the canvas and rallied for a 57-second KO over Paul “The Slayer” Schiller. Moses is now 1-1 in the squared circle. Schiller, who hails from Kenosha, WI, is now 0-1.

 

Fort Madison, Iowa upstart Aubrey “Merciless” Mendonca needed just 22 seconds to steamroll Junior “The Joker” Hicks in their meeting of debuting cruiserweights, both from Iowa. 

 

Detroit’s “P-Dott Da Knockout Artist” Parris Boyd was spectacular in his BKFC premiere, sending Ruben “The Beast” Arroyo to the canvas twice en route to a 31-second TKO victory in their lightweight clash. Arroyo, a product of El Paso, TX, is now 0-3 under the BKFC banner.

 

BKFC Fight Night Michigan Results

 

Esteban Rodriguez def. Zac Cavender via TKO in Round 1 (1:10);

 

Nathan Rivera def. Tommy Strydom via TKO in Round 3 (0:34);

 

Joseph Creer def. Taylor Bull via TKO in Round 2 (1:47);

 

Erick Lozano def. Tylor Sijohn via unanimous decision (50-40 twice and 48-42);

 

Justin Street def. AJ Craig via unanimous decision (50-45 twice and 49-46);

 

Mike Hernandez def. Antonio Castillo Jr. via TKO in Round 2 (1:15);

 

David Sanchez def. Terryl Johnson via TKO in Round 2 (1:19);

 

Oleg Magkeev def. Eric Westbury via TKO in Round 2 (0:13);

 

Casey Moses def. Paul Schiller via KO in Round 1 (0:57);

 

Aubrey Mendonca def. Junior Hicks via KO in Round 1 (0:22); and

 

Parris Boyd def. Ruben Arroyo via TKO in Round 1 (0:31).