BKFC 83 took place at the sold-out Palazzo Dello Sport in Rome. Italian combat sports legend Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara dethroned Chris Camozzi for the BKFC cruiserweight championship. Two judges agreed on the 48-47 verdict for Sakara, and one judge scored it 48-47 for Camozzi, who was defending his belt for the second time. Sakara, who represents Rome and Coconut Creek, Florida, is now 2-0 in his BKFC career; the Denver product Camozzi is now 4-2.\ “I’m 44 years old and now a world champion,” Sakara told the roaring Palazzo Dello Sport in his post-fight interview. “To the next generation, follow your dreams!”

 

BKFC partner Conor McGregor added, “That was the most inspiring performance I’ve ever seen in my entire life in combat sports! A 44-year-old man, who’s been all the way around the block, comes back and crowns himself BKFC cruiserweight Champion in his hometown!”

 

Fformer BKFC lightweight champion Franco Tenaglia took a big step closer to reclaiming the title by defeating Ben “The Bomber” Bonner in Saturday’s semi-final matchup for the BKFC lightweight title ttournament. Two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Tenaglia, and one had it 48-47 for Bonner, who entered fight night as BKFC’s interim lightweight champion. Tenaglia, who represents Alicante, Spain and Buenos Aires, Argentina, is now 5-0 in his BKFC career, while the Middlesbrough, U.K. fighter Bonner falls to 4-2. The undefeated Tenaglia will now meet the winner of Austin “No Doubt” Trout’s and Luis “Baboon” Palomino’s highly anticipated rematch in the other semi-final, which took place on Dec. 5th at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. “Put some respect on my name. I keep moving forward,” Tenaglia said in his post-fight interview. “After I win the belt, let’s go to Argentina.”

 

Unbeaten Josef “The Berzerker” Hala of the Czech Republic sent Francesco Ricchi to the canvas four times en route to the standing-TKO victory in their contest for the inaugural BKFC European middleweight title. The stoppage came at 1:43 in Round 3. Hala is now 5-0 in his bare knuckle fighting career. The former BKFC middleweight champion Ricchi, who hails from Rome and Fort Lauderdale, FL, is now 7-3 in the BKFC. “I’m the first Champion from Czech Republic,” Hala said via his interpreter in his post-fight interview. “Today I made history as the first ever BKFC [regional] champion from Czech Republic.” 

 

Undefeated Nico “The Iron” Gaffie won the inaugural BKFC European featherweight title with an electric 73-second KO victory at the expense of Jelle “Barbarian” Zeegers. The Marbella, Spain product is now 3-0 with three stoppage victories. Zeegers, who represents Tilburg, Netherlands, is now 1-1 in his BKFC career.

 

“I'm going to follow in the steps of Conor McGregor and be a two-division champion at 135 pounds and 145 pounds,” Gaffie said via his interpreter in his post-fight press conference. “God put me on this path for a reason, and I’m following His path.”

 

Welterweight Carlos Trinidad-Snake climbed to 7-1 with the biggest win of his career Saturday by stopping Jimmy “The King” Sweeney in the third round of their 165-pound matchup. Sweeney is the most experienced bare knuckle fighter in modern history, bringing a 29-5 record into fight night. Time of the TKO finish was 18 seconds into the third round. Sweeney, a product of Sligo, Ireland, is now 0-2 under the BKFC banner.

 

Wilmington, NC  featherweight James “Get Down” Brown improved to 5-1 in his BKFC career with a corner stoppage TKO over the previously undefeated Dan “Indian Spice” Chapman. Brown now has back-to-back wins and entered Saturday’s action as the No. 5 contender in the BFKC featherweight division. Chapman’s corner requested a stop to the bout at the conclusion of the fourth round. The Indonesian-born Welshman Chapman is now 6-1 in his bare knuckle fighting career.

 

Milan, Italy’s Walter Pugliesi cruised to 2-0 in the squared circle with a first-round KO at the expense of Karl “The Wasp” Thompson in their non-title fight matchup. The bout was stopped with nine seconds left in the opening stanza. Thompson, a product of Sedgefield, U.K., is now 4-1 under the BKFC banner and entered fight night as the No. 2 contender in the BKFC cruiserweight division.

 

Coventry, U.K. heavyweight Krzysztof “Big Man” Wisiewski improved to 2-0 under the BKFC banner with a TKO victory over the previously unbeaten Haze “The Huntsman” Hepi. The ringside doctor called a stop to the bout at the conclusion of the second round due to a nasty cut across Hepi’s eyelid. Hepi, who hails from Christchurch, New Zealand, is now 3-1 in his bare knuckle career.

 

Zilina, Slovakia’s Tomas Melis picked himself up off the canvas and rallied for a first-round KO against cruiserweight Andrea “Italian Thunder” Bicchi. The bout was stopped with just one second left in the opening frame. Melis is now 2-0 with back-to-back, first-round stoppages in BKFC action. Bicchi, who represents Florence, is now 3-3 in his bare knuckle fighting career.

 

Monsummano Terme, Italy cruiserweight Ernesto “Big 20” Papa smashed his way to 2-0 under the BKFC banner with a 53-second, two-knockdown TKO victory over Fred “The Piranha” Sikking. Both of Papa’s wins have come by first-round finish. The Hilversum, Netherlands  product Sikking was making his BKFC debut.

 

Florence’s Ouadia “The Tiger” Tergui was victorious in his BKFC debut, stopping Enzo “Osso Duro” Tobbia via TKO in the third round of their middleweight matchup. The bout ended in some controversy when an apparent eye poke went unseen by the referee. As Tobbia turned his back to recover from the illegal strike, Tergui swarmed in for the finish. Time of the stoppage was 1:12. Tobbia, who represents Chioggia, Italy, is now 1-1 in the Squared Circle.