Former WBO 130-pound champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring won the vacant bare knuckle BKFC bantamweight (which is 135 pounds in BKFC) title at the sold-out Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California. The former United States Olympic team member accomplished the feat with a one-sided, unanimous decision victory over Michael “Papa G” Larrimore. Herring dropped Larrimore once, leading to the unanimous 50-44 victory across all three scorecards. “I knew Michael was a hard hitter and a tough guy, so we stuck with the game plan,” Herring said in his post-fight interview, adding, “This is an entertainment business, so you want to entertain the fans, first and foremost.” The Coram, NY product is now 2-0 under the BKFC banner, while the Clearwater, FL fighter Larrimore is now 3-2 in BKFC's quared circle. Friday’s event aired LIVE worldwide exclusively on DAZN.

 

Huntington Beach, CA fighter Cody “The Knuckle Maniac” Vidal pounded his way to 4-1-1 in the squared circle with a third straight stoppage victory over JoMi “The Archangel” Escoboza. The bout was stopped with just two seconds left in the opening frame.  Vidal took aim at BKFC light heavyweight champion Lorenzo “The Juggernaut” Hunt in his post-fight interview: “I am the best. In fact, Lorenzo ‘The Juggernaut’ Hunt, you say there’s no champ unless you say so, but I’m the next champ because ‘The Knuckle Maniac’ said so!” The Dominican Republic-born Coconut Creek, FL product Escoboza is now 10-3 in his bare knuckle fighting career.

 

Levi “Pitbull” Costa evened his BKFC record to 2-2 with a head-turning, first-round finish at the expense of UFC veteran Chase Gormley. The Brazilian-born San Diego-based fighter sent Gormley to the canvas twice, forcing a TKO stoppage at 1:38 of the opening round. Gormley, who hails from Susanville, CA, is now 1-2.

 

Midland, TX’s Anthony “Lil Nidas” Sanchez earned a unanimous decision victory over David “El Perro Necio” Diaz after five thrilling rounds of bantamweight action. Sanchez dropped Diaz three times, leading to all three judges giving him the victory (48-44, 49-43, 50-42). Sanchez is now 2-3 under the BKFC banner; the Mexican-born Los Angeles product Diaz is now 3-2-1.

 

“The Hollywood Bad Boy” Eric Soto of Palm Springs, CA turned heads in his BKFC premiere, stopping Pernell “Bootsie” Stevens in the opening round of their heavyweight matchup. Soto picked himself up off the canvas and rallied with a pair of knockdowns at the expense of Stevens. The fight was stopped with 14 seconds left in the first round. Stevens, who hails from Las Vegas, was also making his BKFC debut.

 

Russian-born Los Angeles welterweight Evgenii “The Sailor” Kurdanov sent Erik “Lights Out” Lopez to the canvas four times before their bout was stopped 41 seconds into the second round. Kurdanov climbed to 2-3 under the BKFC banner with the victory, while the Dillon, MT fighter Lopez fell to 1-3 in his BKFC career.

 

Humboldt County, CA welterweight Ryan “Ryu” Petersen returned to the win column and upped his BKFC record to 3-2 with a decision victory over Daniel “Sweet Tooth” Keepers. Petersen scored the lone knockdown of the fight, paving the way to all three judges giving him the nod (49-45x2, 48-46). The Las Vegas product Keepers was making his BKFC debut.

 

Unbeaten Long Beach, CA cruiserweight Iman “Stross” Williams smashed his way to 3-0 with a second-round KO at the expense of Cody Kerr. Time of the stoppage was 55 seconds into the second stanza. All of Williams’ victories have come by stoppage. He is the son of former heavyweight contender Jeremy “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” Williams. Kerr, who represents Sturgis, SD, is now 1-1 in his BKFC career.

 

Keith “The Officer” Richardson of Van Nuys, CA dropped Devon “The Dapper Scrapper” Schwan three times en route to the second-round TKO victory in cruiserweight action. Time of the stoppage was 41 seconds into the second frame. Richardson is now 3-2 in the Squared Circle, with all of his wins coming by stoppage. The Wichita, KS product Schwan is now 1-1 under the BKFC banner.

 

Oceanside, CA’s Ricardo “El Nino Malo” Talavera Jr. was impressive in his BKFC premiere in the opening fight of the night, needing just 76 seconds to knock out “Slick” Vic Flor in their bantamweight bout. Flor, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, FL, is now 0-2 in the squared circle.

 

BKFC 89 RESULTS

 

Jamel Herring def. Michael Larrimore via Unanimous Decision (50-44x3) - wins vacant BKFC bantamweight title;

 

Cody Vidal def. JoMi Escoboza via TKO in Round 1 (1:58);

 

Levi Costa def. Chase Gormley via TKO in Round 1 (1:38);

 

Anthony Sanchez def. David Diaz via Unanimous Decision (48-44, 49-43, 50-42);

 

Eric Soto def. Pernell Stevens via TKO in Round 1 (1:46);

 

Evgenii Kurdanov def. Erik Lopez via TKO in Round 2 (0:41);

 

Ryan Petersen def. Daniel Keepers via Unanimous Decision (49-45x2, 48-46);

 

Iman Williams def. Cody Kerr via KO in Round 2 (0:55);

 

Keith Richardson def. Devon Schwan via TKO in Round 2 (0:41); and

 

Ricardo Talavera Jr. def. Victor Flor via KO in Round 1 (1:16).