Former World Boxing Association champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout defeated Luis “Baboon” Palomino via Unanimous Decision in their action-packed showdown for the vacant BKFC World Welterweight Championship in the Main Event of Bare Knuckle FIghting Championship 57 on Friday, Feb. 2 at the sold-out Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL.
The judges scored it 49-45 across the board in favor of Trout, who dropped Palomino to the canvas in the fourth round.
With the win, Trout improves to 2-0 under the BKFC banner and the Las Cruces, NM product becomes the first world champion gloved boxer to lay claim to a BKFC World Championship. Palomino entered the fight as the only combatant in BKFC history to win their first nine bouts in the Squared Circle. The previously unbeaten Peru-born Miami product is the only fighter to ever sit atop the BKFC Pound-for-Pound rankings.
“This wouldn’t feel as good if it wasn’t against a prime champion like ‘Baboon.’” Trout told the jam-packed Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “I don’t think any win would be worthy of how I’m feeling now if it wasn’t against the king of BKFC … I’m going to be here for a long time, so get tired of me – I’m not going anywhere.”
In the BKFC 57 Co-Main Event, fast-rising Broward County, FL lightweight Bryce "Baby Yaga" Henry cruised to 4-0 in the Squared Circle with a second-round TKO over the previously unbeaten Robbie "Problems" Peralta of Escondido, CA. The stoppage came at the conclusion of the second round, when Peralta’s compromised vision forced the ringside doctor to stop the fight. Peralta, an eight-time UFC vet, is 3-1 after the loss.
Henry, who entered fight night as the No. 4 contender in the stacked 155-pound weight class, called for his shot at BKFC gold after his victory.
“I’ll fight (Tony “Loco” Soto) – I don’t care,” Henry told the sold-out Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which included Soto in attendance. “I respect him as a fighter, but I think I’ll run right through him. If he doesn’t want to fight me, I’ll go back to my old weight class, 165, and take that belt too.”
Unbeaten Cuba-born Miami product Bryan “El Gallo” Duran became the first fighter in BKFC history to win their first six fights by stoppage as he defeated former BKFC World Featherweight Championship challenger Louie “El Loco” Lopez by fourth-round KO in the BKFC 57 Feature Fight. Duran picked himself up off the canvas for the first time in his BKFC career in the second round, and dropped Lopez in the first and fourth frames. Great Falls, MT’s Lopez entered fight night as the No. 1 contender in the BKFC featherweight division; he is now 3-3 in the Squared Circle.
JoMi "The Archangel" Escoboza upped his bare knuckle fighting record to 9-1 as the Coconut Creek, FL light-heavyweight scored a third-round KO over Junction, KS’s Isaac "The Honey Badger" Doolittle. Doolittle, who entered the fight as the No. 3 contender in the BKFC light-heavyweight division, saw his record drop to 4-2-1 with the loss.
Cuba-born Miami bantamweight Alberto "El Indio" Blas cruised to 4-0 in the Squared Circle with a first-round TKO at the expense of former BKFC World Bantamweight Championship challenger Daniel "Machete" Alvarez. The stoppage came one minute into the opening frame. The Imperial Valley, CA product Alvarez sees his record fall to 1-2 with the loss.
A new heavyweight contender emerged at BKFC 57 in the form of Leonardo “El Zombo” Perdomo as the heavy-handed, Cuba-born Miami goliath smashed his way to 3-0 in the Squared Circle with a first-round KO over Bobby "The Zombie" Brents of Springfield, IL. Time of the stoppage was 33 seconds into the opening frame.
Unbeaten Delray Beach, FL featherweight Justin “Joy Boy” Ibarrola needed just 15 seconds to steamroll Landon "Almost Famous" Williams with a first-round KO. Ibarrola is now 3-0 under the BKFC banner, while Williams dipped to 0-2.
In the first fight of the BKFC 57 Main Card, Nicaragua-born Miami product Edgard "The Dream Killer" Plazaola dropped Darrick "The Buck" Gates of Idaho Falls, ID four times in the opening round of their featherweight showdown before the fight was stopped with just one second left in the opening frame. Plazaola improved to 2-0 with the win, and Gates’ record dropped to 1-5, 1 NC.
Chris "Dynamite" Garcia of Clearwater, FL kept his perfect record intact with a hard-fought, majority-decision victory over Phoenix’s Albert "Trill Fight" Inclan in bantamweight action. Garcia registered the lone knockdown of the bout in the fourth round, paving the way to the 48-46x2, 47-47 decision over Inclan. Garcia upped his record to 3-0 with the win, while Inclan fell to 1-2 under the BKFC banner.
Clearwater, FL’s "Royal" Ryan Reber dug deep to climb to 5-0 under the BKFC banner with a fourth-round standing TKO over Derek "Rage" Perez of Belen, NM in their bantamweight bout. Reber, the No. 3 contender in the BKFC 135-pound division, picked himself up off the canvas in the first round and looked all but defeated through three frames until the tide turned at the beginning of the fourth round. Time of the stoppage was 1:14. Perez’s record dropped to 2-2 with the loss.
In the first fight of the BKFC 57 Preliminary Card, Great Falls, MT’s Leo “Bushido” Bercier earned his third straight stoppage victory in the Squared Circle with a fourth-round KO over Steve “Tomahawk” Townsel of Fort Pierce, FL. The back-and-forth cruiserweight battle came to a stop when Townsel injured his hand and was unable to continue. Time of the stoppage was 2:10. With the win, Bercier improved to 4-1 under the BKFC banner, while Townsel fell to 3-4.
Celebrities in attendance at BKFC 57 included tennis icon Andre Agassi, two-time Super Bowl winner Jason Pierre-Paul, basketball legend Tracy McGrady and BKFC superstar "Platinum" Mike Perry, among many others.
Here are the highlights from BKFC Founder/President David Feldman’s post-event press conference.
On BKFC’s debut in Los Angeles on April 27: “It’s a really, really special card; we’re going to sell that one out really fast. We’re going to make an unbelievable debut in Los Angeles on April 27. The commission has been great to deal with, and we’re going to blow California away.”
On his recent meeting with UFC President Dana White: “It was more of just creating an ally, and that’s really all I have to say. It was a great meeting, he’s a great guy. He’s doing his thing with UFC, and we’re doing our thing with BKFC.”
On the future of the vacant BKFC World Lightweight Championship: “It looks like (Bryce Henry versus Tony Soto) is going to happen.”
On the BKFC heavyweight division: “We’re going to blow up the heavyweight division right now. We have some big signings coming for the heavyweights as well. It’s going to be one of our most exciting divisions.”
On further BKFC global expansion: “We had people from all over the world in attendance tonight. They all loved it, and we’re going to expand everywhere.”
BKFC 57 Main Card Results
Austin Trout def. Luis Palomino via Unanimous Decision (49-45x3)
Wins Vacant BKFC World Welterweight Title
Bryce Henry def. Robbie Peralta via TKO in Round 2 (2:00)
Bryan Duran def. Louie Lopez via KO in Round 4 (0:48)
JoMi Escoboza def. Isaac Doolittle via KO in Round 3 (1:00)
Alberto "El Indio" Blas def. Daniel Alvarez via TKO in Round 1 (1:00)
Leonardo Perdomo def. Bobby Brents via KO in Round 1 (0:33)
Edgard Plazaola def. Darrick Gates via TKO in Round 1 (1:59)
BKFC 57 Preliminary Card Results
Chris Garcia def. Albert Inclan via Majority Decision (48-46x2, 47-47)
Ryan Reber def. Derek Perez via TKO in Round 4 (1:14)
Leo Bercier def. Steve Townsel via KO in Round 4 (2:10)
