Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returned to Australia with a night of knockouts on Saturday at the sold-out Eatons Hill Hotel in Brisbane. Josh “Kamikaze” Kuhne smashed his way to 2-0 under the BKFC banner with a lightning-fast KO at the expense of “Fighting Irish” Shaun Curran in the welterweight division. Kuhne, who hails from Gold Coast, Australia, sent Curran to the canvas three times before their fight was stopped after just 58 seconds. Curran, who represents Adelaide, Australia, was making his BKFC debut. Both of Kuhne’s wins have come by stoppage, and he said in his post-fight interview that he hopes Saturday’s win earns him a spot on the BKFSea Bruise Cruise 2027, Jan. 22-25: “I’m happy, I’m healthy, and I’m going to sell those tickets for the Bruise Cruise, baby! Get the kids, we’re going to Miami, we’re going to The Bahamas! Let’s go!”

 

Brisbane’s Mark “Bam Bam” Flanagan knocked out Kaylib Heke in their heavyweight showdown. Flanagan, who was KO'd by current cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia his previous career as a gloved boxer, is now 1-1 under the BKFC banner, while the New Zealand fighter Heke is 0-1 after accepting this fight earlier this week as a short-notice replacement. Flanagan said in his post-fight interview that he hopes his impressive stoppage victory Saturday is enough to earn him a spot in BKFC’s hugely anticipated World's Baddest Man Tournament: “I’m going to (expletive) them up!”

 

Sudanese-born Victoria, Australia fighter Santo “King Cowboy” Joma was victorious in his BKFC debut, defeating Viktor “The Impaler” Lyall via TKO in middleweight action. The stoppage came at 1:26 of the second round. Lyall, who represents Brisbane, Australia, was also making his BKFC premiere.

 

Gold Coast, Australia’s Mick “Warhorse” Whitehead stopped Ryan Winnett in the fourth round of their lightweight battle. Whitehead is now 1-1 under the BKFC banner, and the Brisbane man, Winnett, is also 1-1.

 

Sudanese-born Brisbane, Australia product Mario “Hand Grenade” Loga was spectacular in his BKFC premiere, dropping Alvin “Aychpapi” Kanehailua three times before their middleweight bout was called to a halt after just 47 seconds. Kanehailua, who hails from Honolulu is now 0-2.

 

Logan, Australia’s Hunter “Coca Samoa” Ioane improved to 2-0 under the BKFC banner by stopping Luke “Bam Bam” Bampton in the opening round of their lightweight matchup. The bout was stopped with just one second left in the opening round. The Adelaide, Australia product Bampton is now 0-2 in the squared circle.

 

Brisbane heavyweight Mel “The Revenant” Tolone only needed 41 seconds to win big in his BKFC debut after he steamrolled “The Rat Man” Ricky Rowles-Brown, who was also making his first trip to the Squared Circle.

 

Brisbane’s Timothy Randel was victorious in his BKFC debut in the opening bout of the night, knocking out Ahmad “The Mauler” Muhtaseb in welterweight action. The stoppage came at 1:12 of the first round. Muhtaseb, who hails from Melbourne was also making his BKFC debut.

 

BKFC Fight Night Australia

Josh Kuhne def. Shaun Curran via TKO in Round 1 (0:58);

Mark Flanagan def. Kaylib Heke via KO in Round 2 (0:43);

Santo Joma def. Viktor Lyall via TKO in Round 2 (1:26);

Mick Whitehead def. Ryan Winnett via TKO in Round 4 (0:50);

Mario Loga def. Alvin Kanehailua via KO in Round 1 (0:47);

Hunter Ioane def. Luke Bampton via TKO in Round 1 (1:59);

Mel Tolone def. Ricky Rowles-Brown via KO in Round 1 (0:41); and

Timothy Randel def. Ahmad Muhtaseb via KO in Round 1 (1:12).