Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returned to the OCC Road House in Clearwater, Florida on Friday. “Royal” Ryan Reber had his hand raised in victory in the main event, defeating Justin “The Nightmare” Street via unanimous decision in bantamweight action. Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and one judge scored the contest 48-47. Reber, fighting in his hometown, is now 9-2 on the strength of back-to-back wins. He entered fight night as the #2 contender in the BKFC bantamweight (135-pound) division. Street, who represents Westland, MI, is now 5-3. Reber called for the next shot at BKFC bantamweight champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring in his post-fight interview: “Mr. Feldman, I’m here for a good time, not a long time — let’s make it happen!”
Competing in his hometown, Michael “Papa G” Larrimore similarly solidified his status as a contender in BKFC’s bantamweight division by stopping the previously unbeaten Nate “The Bad Man” Morrow in the second round of their 135-pound matchup. Larrimore logged a pair of knockdowns before the fight was stopped at 1:31 of the second stanza. Larrimore entered fight night as the #3 contender in the bantamweight division. He is now 4-2, with his only losses coming against Herring and former BKFC bantamweight champion Keith “The Rockstar” Richardson.
North Carolina's Doug “ColdRed” Coltrane surged to 5-2 by knocking out Tony “TMurph” Murphy in middleweight action. The fight was stopped 53 seconds into the second round. All but one of Coltrane’s victories have come by stoppage. Murphy, who represents Clearwater, FL, is now 3-1. Coltrane called out undefeated BKFC middleweight champion Jack “Little Lever’s Meat Cleaver” Cullen in his post-fight interview: “Let me get the title shot! I’m knocking people out with both hands!”
Birmingham, AL welterweight Rickie “Crimson King” McConnico earned his first BKFC victory with a third-round TKO over Mike Heckert. McConnico picked himself up off the canvas and rallied with two knockdowns of his own before the fight was stopped 47 seconds into the third stanza. Heckert, who hails from Clearwater, FL, is now 2-2 under the BKFC banner.
Hudson, FL’s Chachi Versace upped his BKFC record to 1-2-1 with a hard-fought majority decision over Angelo “The Phenomenal Fighter” Trujillo in flyweight action. Versace scored the sole knockdown of the fight, leading two judges to score the fight 48-46 while one judge scored the contest 47-47. Trujillo, a product of Grand Junction, CO, is now 0-3.
Debuting Columbus, OH fighter Donny “The Destroyer” Korbel sent Jadon “The Prince of Puerto Rico” Lee to the canvas three times before their bantamweight fight was called to a stop at the conclusion of the second round. The Spring Hill, FL fighter Lee was also making his BKFC debut.
Tampa FL’s Sam “Sicario” Delao was victorious in his BKFC debut, earning a decision win at the expense of Chris “Coco Bear” Keirn in light-heavyweight action. Two judges scored the fight 30-27 and one scored the contest 29-28, all in favor of Delao. Keirn, who represents New Port Richey, FL, was also stepping into the Squared Circle for the first time.
Lakeland, FL middleweight Tyler “Boom Boom” Baker needed only 43 seconds to make a successful BKFC premiere in the opening fight of the night. Baker dropped Yari “Bash Bro” Kaganovsky once before the fight was stopped via standing TKO. Kaganovsky, who hails from Round Lake, IL by way of Ukraine, was also making his BKFC debut.
