BEN BONNER STRIKES GOLD AT BKFC-76 TEXAS!
ANDREI ARLOVSKI, KENZIE MORRISON AND JESSICA EYE WIN EXPLOSIVE BKFC DEBUTS
Click Here for BKFC-76 Texas Fight Night Photos / BKFC
Fort Worth, TX (June 21, 2025) Ben “The Bomber” Bonner won the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) Interim Lightweight World Title with a thrilling unanimous decision victory over Tony “Loco” Soto in the Main Event of BKFC’s hugely anticipated debut in Texas on Saturday night at BKFC 76 in the sold-out Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX.
Despite taking the fight on just eight day’s notice, the Middleborough, UK product burst out of the gate with knockdowns in the first and second rounds, paving the way to the hard-fought victory over Soto (49-44, 47-46, 48-45) and upping his BKFC record to 4-1 in the process.
“Tony is one of the toughest men I've ever shared the ring with. Fair play to him, but like I said before, I'm the baddest man at 155 on this planet and there's nobody on this planet that's going to beat me. Not a single man,” Bonner told the jam-packed Dickies Arena. Soto, who represents Hickory, NC, is now 6-2 in the Squared Circle.
Saturday’s event aired LIVE worldwide on DAZN.
In one of the most highly anticipated premieres in BKFC history, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski defeated Josh “Cuddly Bear” Copeland via technical knockout in their action-packed heavyweight matchup.
The ringside physician called a stop to the contest at the conclusion of the fourth round due to a large cut over the eye of Copeland.
The Belarusian-born Coconut Creek, FL product Arlovski called out BKFC Heavyweight World Champion “Big” Ben Rothwell before facing off with the champ in the middle of the Squared Circle.
“You have a champion, Ben Rothwell, but I've beaten him twice and I'm looking forward to doing it again,” Arlovski said to the approval of the sold-out Dickies Arena.
“Listen, you better be careful what you wish for,” Rothwell replied. “If you fight me like that, I’m going to end your (expletive) career,”
Copeland, a fellow UFC vet from Denver, is now 2-2 in his BKFC career.
In the BKFC 76 Feature Fight, Jessica “Evil” Eye dug deep to edge out Mariya “Money Mashka” Agapova in women’s flyweight action. The Cleveland, OH product Eye logged the sole knockdown of the fight, leading to the unanimous decision victory (49-45x2, 50-44). Eye and the Kazakh-born Sunrise, FL fighter Agapova were both making their BKFC debuts after long MMA careers.
“David Feldman, thank you for bringing me out of retirement. I'm a little beat up, but we had to shake off the rust at some point,” Eye told the rocking Dickies Arena. “Bruises heal, but 'Evil' lives on. It's either one day or Day 1, and that's right now.”
Fayetteville, AR heavyweight Kenzie “TCB” Morrison lived up to high expectations in his hotly anticipated BKFC premiere, needing just 63 seconds to steamroll Alex “The Rhino” Davis. Morrison boasts a professional gloved boxing record of 22-1-2 (20 KOs) and is the son of late gloved boxing legend Tommy “The Duke” Morrison.
“BKFC, I'm here,” Morrison told the sold-out Dickies Arena. “I'm here and I'm excited about this.”
Davis, who hails from Coal Mountain, WV, is now 1-2.
Professional Bull Riders (PBR) standout Cameron “The Bull” Delano was victorious in his BKFC premiere, stopping Jesse Desrosier in the third round of their middleweight showdown. The Liberty, SC product picked himself up off the canvas and logged three knockdowns of his own, with the technical knockout coming at the 1:05 mark in the third round. Desroser, a product of the Blackfeet Nation, was also making his BKFC debut.
Below are quotes from BKFC Founder and President David Feldman at the post-fight press conference;
“We’re going to come back here. There are three different parts of Texas that we can come to, and that’s our plan. The fans loved it, the commission loved it, and we’re very happy with our debut in Texas.”
Fights of the Night: Ben Bonner vs. Tony Soto, Rodney Hinton vs. Darren Whitney
“There were 24 fighters tonight and we gave out 18 Fight-Your-Ass-Off Bonuses. No other promotion in the world does that. Eighteen guys are leaving with extra money tonight. I'm very proud of the fighters for doing what they had to do.”
“I've got a whole slew of big announcements coming in the next four to six weeks that are going to change the promotion of BKFC and they're going to change the world of combat sports. I'm very happy with where this company is going. The trajectory of BKFC has never been bigger.”
On the broadcast BKFC announced its third event in Canada. BKFC Fight Night Edmonton will take place on Aug. 9 at River Cree Resort & Casino in Edmonton, AB.
Professional wrestling/MMA legend Bobby Lashley was in attendance on Saturday and made it clear that he’d like to step into the Squared Circle: “I talked with David Feldman and I think I have one more left in the tank!”
Fort Worth’s JC “Corazon” Deleon improved to 2-0 with a technical knockout victory over former BKFC headliner Ruben “Bad Boy” Wart in lightweight action. Warr retired 48 seconds into the third round, citing vision problems. Both of Deleon’s wins have come by stoppage. The Louisville, KY fighter Warr is now 2-2-1.
Undefeated Dallas heavyweight Anthony “The Warrior of Christ” Garrett smashed his way to 3-0 with a third straight, first-round finish over the previously unbeaten Haze “The Hooligan” Wilson. Garrett picked himself up off the canvas early and rallied with back-to-back knockdowns en route to the stoppage at 1:36 of the opening frame. Garrett holds the record for the fastest and second-fastest finishes in the history of the BKFC heavyweight division, with victories in 12 seconds (Lavar Johnson) and 16 seconds (John Orr). Wilson, who represents Tulsa, OK, is now 4-1.
Hudson, FL’s Rodney “The Animal” Hinton climbed to 2-0 with a hard-fought, unanimous decision over debuting Fort Worth fighter Darren “D-Day” Whitney in their electric welterweight showdown. All three judges scored the fight 47-46. Each fighter logged a knockdown in the opening frame, and Hinton was deducted a point in the first round for a strike to the grounded Whitney. Hinton was cornered by BKFC Women’s Flyweight World Champion Christine “Misfit” Ferea; Whitney was cornered by former BKFC Bantamweight World Champion Johnny “Brutal” Bedford.
Houston, TX’s Jake “The Grinder” Heffernan won big in his BKFC debut by stopping Paco “The Texas Punisher” Castillo via technical knockout in the opening frame of their lightweight battle. The fight was called to a stop with six seconds remaining in the opening round. The Hereford, TX fighter Castillo was also making his BKFC premiere.
MMA vet Willie “Whoop Ass” Gates made a memorable BKFC debut, putting away Brandon “The VooDoo Child” Meneses 84 seconds into the opening round of their bantamweight matchup. The Fontana, CA fighter sent Meneses to the canvas twice. Meneses, who represents North Richland Hills, TX, moves to 2-2-1.
Odessa, TX’s Jeremy “The Warrior” Sauceda earned his second straight, first-round stoppage victory with a 63-second knockout over Israel “El Rooster” Rodriguez in their welterweight matchup. Sauceda is now 3-2, with all of his wins coming in the first round. Rodriguez, who represents Amarillo, TX, is now 0-1.
In the first BKFC fight in Texas, Abilene, TX light-heavyweight Roderick “Ice Water” Stewart defeated James “The Dawg” Grayin an action-packed three round unanimous decision. Two judges scored the contest 30-26 and one had it 29-27. Stewart is now 2-2 on the strength of back-to-back victories. Gray, who hails from Weatherford, TX, was making his BKFC debut.
BKFC 76 Results
Ben Bonner def. Tony Soto via Unanimous Decision (49-44, 47-46, 48-45)
Wins BKFC Interim World Lightweight Title
Andrei Arlovski def. Josh Copeland via TKO in Round 4 (2:00)
Jessica Eye def. Mariya Agapova via Unanimous Decision (49-45x2, 50-44)
Kenzie Morrison def. Alex Davis via TKO in Round 1 (1:03)
JC Deleon def. Ruben Warr via TKO in Round 3 (0:48)
Anthony Garrett def. Haze Wilson via TKO in Round 1 (1:36)
Rodney Hinton def. Darren Whitney via Unanimous Decision (47-46x3)
Jake Heffernan def. Paco Castillo via TKO in Round 1 (1:54)
Willie Gates def. Brandon Meneses via KO in Round 1 (1:24)
Cameron Delano def. Jesse Desrosier via TKO in Round 3 (1:05)
Jeremy Sauceda def. Israel Rodriguez via KO in Round 1 (1:03)
Roderick Stewart def. James Gray via Unanimous Decision (30-26x2, 29-27)
Media Contact/Credentials
Bernie Bahrmasel
Double B Sports
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Email: BernieBahrmasel@yahoo.com
Twitter: @BernieBahrmasel
About Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC)
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is the first promotion allowed to hold a legal, sanctioned, and regulated bare knuckle event in the United States since 1889. Based in Philadelphia, and headed by President and former professional boxer David Feldman, BKFC is dedicated to preserving the historical legacy of bare knuckle fighting, while utilizing a specifically created rule set that emphasizes fighter safety. BKFC holds all of its bouts in a revolutionary circular four-rope ring, designed to encourage fast-paced and exciting bouts. The patented BKFC “Squared Circle” contains scratch lines, based on the Broughton Rules which governed bare knuckle fighting in the 19th century, and which requires fighters to “Toe the Line”: start every round face to face, and just inches apart.
In BKFC, only those fighters who are established professionals in boxing, MMA, kickboxing, or Muay Thai are allowed to compete. The referees and judges are required to have extensive professional combat sports experience. All fights are held under the auspices and control of an Athletic Commission. Unlike other fighting organizations and combat sports internationally which claim to be “bare knuckle”, but require wraps, tape, and gauze; BKFC is true to its word as fighters are not allowed to wrap their hands to within one inch of the knuckle. This makes BKFC unquestionably the truest form of bare knuckle fighting. BKFC is dedicated to not just creating the safest, most exciting, and highest-level bare-knuckle fighting organization in the world, it’s also leading the way for a new fully recognized professional combat sport. BKFC is truly the sport of the future, which fully respects its remarkable past.
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