“King” Kai Stewart defended his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) featherweight title for a record-tying sixth time at BKFC 87 on Friday at the sold-out Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL. The Great Falls, MT product defended his crown with a hard-fought, unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Nico “The Iron” Gaffie. [In BKFC, the featherweight imit is 145 pounds]. Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and one had it 48-47. “I am the king of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship,” Stewart proclaimed in his post-fight interview. “I’m the best bare knuckle fighter in the world. I’m going to continue to get better, I’m going to continue to grow, and I’m going to continue repping the most exciting sport in the world as the (expletive) King!” Stewart is now 9-0 in the Squared Circle. Gaffie, the inaugural BKFC European featherweight champion from Marbella, Spain, is now 3-1 under the BKFC banner.
Only Stewart, Christine “Misfit” Ferea and Luis “Baboon” Palomino have defended a BKFC World Championship six times.
Cuban heavyweight Leonardo “El Zambo” Perdomo cruised to 11-0 with his tenth first-round finish at the expense of UFC vet Rashad “Daywalker” Coulter. The Miami fighter only needed 67 seconds to roll through Coulter, who entered fight night with a bare knuckle fighting record of 2-1.
Perdomo, the #1 contender in the BKFC heavyweight division, took aim at champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski before the two undefeated heavyweights faced off in the middle of the squared circle. “Arlovski, where are you? Come at me, boy! Don’t be scared. Come on, papi. (The belt) is mine. It’s mine, and everybody knows it!”
Cuban-born Miami fighter Bryan “El Gallo” Duran needed just 19 seconds to steamroll Derek “Rage” Perez. Duran, a featherweight, is now 8-1-1 in BKFC. Perez, who hails from Belem, NM, is now 4-5. Duran reinforced his BKFC featherweight title aspirations in his post-fight interview: “I apologize for letting you guys down (in my first BKFC title fight against Stewart). But I promise you that when I fight for the belt again, I’m bringing it home to Miami!”
Here are some highlights from BKFC Founder/President David Feldman’s post-event press conference:
Fight of the Night: Kai Stewart vs. Nico Gaffie
Knockout of the Night: Bryan Duran
Performance of the Night: Jancarlos Rivera
On BKFC 87: “We asked the guys to come fight, and they came to fight tonight. This was the liveliest crowd we’ve had in a long time. The energy out there was amazing. It was a great night; I’m very, very happy with the event.”
On Kai Stewart's next fight: "We have to think about what's next. What do the fans want? I'm always with what the fans want. It's not always about the rankings. If the fans don't want it and don't enjoy it ... I've got to give the fans what they want."
On Leonardo Perdomo's performance: “He came in in great shape and got the first-round knockout. I think this was the most devastating he’s looked. His punches were shorter and he came out and scored a really, really great knockout against a tough veteran.”
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Anderson, IN strawweight Shelby “Boom Boom” Cannon earned the biggest win of her career as she defeated the previously unbeaten Rosalinda “Venom” Rodriguez via split decision. Two judges scored the bout in favor of Cannon (48-46, 49-45) and one judge had it 49-46 for Rodriguez. Cannon is now 2-1, while the Fort Lauderdale, FL product Rodriguez falls to 3-1 with the loss.
Miami’s Leo “Lionheart” Carrera won his light-heavyweight fight with UFC vet Sabah “Sleek Sheik” Homasi after Homasi was disqualified in the second round for landing an illegal spinning back fist. Time of the stoppage was 1:06 in the second stanza. Carrera improved to 3-2 with the victory, while the Coconut Creek, FL fighter Homasi is now 1-2.
South African cruiserweight Jeremy “Pitbull” Smith dug deep to earn a split-decision victory at the expense of former Donald Sanchez in a rematch. Smith improved to 4-3 with the victory, and 2-0 against Sanchez. The Albuquerque, NM fighter Sanchez dropped to 4-3 with the loss and announced his retirement shortly after his fight.
Charleston, SC’s Roberto “El Gallo Negro” Armas rose to the ocassion in his 10th BKFC bout, halting the rise of the previously undefeated AJ “The Biggest” Rodriguez in bantamweight action. Rodriguez’s corner called a stop to the bout at the conclusion of the third round. Armas is now 5-5 following his TKO victory. The Venezuelan-born Miami product Rodriguez is now 3-1.
Fort Myers, FL bantamweight Jancarlos “Baby Hulk” Rivera smashed his way to 3-0 with a first-round TKO over Samuel “Ace O’ Spades” Samples in their bantamweight showdown. Rivera picked himself up off the canvas and rallied for the stoppage with just one second left in the opening round. That’s now back-to-back, first-round finishes for Rivera, while the Madison County, GA fighter Samples is now 3-5.
Clewiston, FL product Chris “Dynamite” Garcia cruised to 6-1 with a second-round TKO over Chancey “Supaflyy” Wilson — his second straight stoppage victory. Garcia logged a pair of knockdowns before the contest was stopped 19 seconds into the second stanza. Wilson, who represents Wichita, KS, is now 3-6 under the BKFC banner.
With BKFC women’s strawweight champion Britain Hart in his corner, Broward County, FL’s Chino Blume edged out Alex “The Rhino” Davis for a hard-fought, split-decision victory in heavyweight action. Two judges scored the fight 30-27 for Blume, and one judge scored the contest 30-27 for Davis. Blume is now 2-2 on the strength of back-to-back wins. Davis, who hails from Coal Mountain, WV, is now 1-3 in the Squared Circle.
Cuban-born Miami product Ernesto “Las Manos Benditas” Suarez cruised to 2-0 under the BKFC banner after sending “Slick” Vic Flor to the canvas three times in the opening round of their bantamweight matchup. The fight was stopped with four seconds left in the first round. Both of Suarez’s wins have come by first-round finish. The Broward County, FL fighter Flor was making his BKFC debut.
