BKFC 78 Results

Undefeated Cuban-American heavyweight sensation Leonardo “El Zambo” Perdomo smashed his way to 8-0 with his record eighth straight, first-round finish in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) Squared Circle on Saturday as he took out former BKFC World Heavyweight Champion Arnold “Bomaye” Adams in the Main Event of BKFC 78 at the sold-out Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL.

The Miami-based Perdomo was deducted a point for striking the grounded Adams early in the first round, but responded by stopping the former champ Adams at 1:26 in the opening frame.

After Perdomo ran through Adams, he took aim at undefeated BKFC World Heavyweight Champion “Big” Ben Rothwell, who was seated ringside, in his post-fight interview: “I want my belt! Where are you at, ‘Big’ Ben? Don’t be scared, little boy! You will respect me. I’m coming to get you!”

Adams, who represents Chicago, IL, is now 7-4 in the Squared Circle after entering Saturday’s action as the No. 3 contender in the division.

Saturday’s event aired LIVE worldwide on The BKFC App, and is the highest-grossing and highest-attended combat sports event in the history of the legendary Hard Rock Live.

Andrew “Legend” Strode’s and Gee “The Cutman” Perez’s Co-Main Event matchup for the vacant Interim BKFC World Flyweight Title was ruled a No Contest. The ringside doctor called a stop to the fight at the conclusion of the second round due to a cut on the face of Perez. The Denver product Strode entered fight night 3-0 and the No. 1 contender in the BKFC flyweight division; the Cuban-born Pahoke, FL product Perez was 5-1 and the No. 4 contender in the weight class heading into Saturday’s action.

Here are some highlights from BKFC Founder/President David Feldman’s post-fight press conference.

“Miami, you guys did it again. Record-breaking crowd for the third time here. We just keep doing more and more numbers. We filled every single seat in the whole entire place, so we won't break this record again. I asked these guys to fight their (expletive) off, tonight especially, because we've introduced an equity plan for the fighters. If you're going to risk your life, you should be rewarded. Most of the fighters today are going to be part owners of the BKFC.”

Knockout of the Night: Esteban Rodriguez

Performance of the Night: Christine Vicens

On a possible matchup between Perdomo and Rothwell: “Who else out there is knocking everybody out in the first round? Not anybody in the history of our sport has scored eight first-round knockouts in a row. He probably punched his ticket to the title shot.”

On the outcome of Saturday’s Co-Main Event: “We don’t see what the doctors see. The doctors thought it was a good call, and I will always support our doctors. I don’t know why it was a No Contest. We’ll get with the athletic commission to get their reasoning, and I support any decision they make, but I 100-percent think that fight deserves a rematch.”

Cuban-born Miami fighter Bryan “El Gallo” Duran and Robbie “Problems” Peralta of Escondido, CA fought to a majority draw in their action-packed lightweight showdown in Saturday’s Feature Fight. Peralta sent Duran to the canvas twice, and Duran responded with a knockdown of his own. Two judges scored the fight a draw, 47-47, and one called it 48-46 in favor of Peralta. Duran, who entered fight night as the No. 1 contender in the BKFC featherweight division, is now 7-1-1 in the Squared Circle. Peralta, a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is now 4-2-1 under the BKFC banner.

The stars were out in Hollywood, including every fighter ranked on the BKFC Pound-for-Pound Media Rankings, including BKFC World Middleweight Champion David “The Redneck” Mundell, former BKFC World Welterweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout, BKFC World Featherweight Champion “King” Kai Stewart, BKFC World Heavyweight Champion “Big” Ben Rothwell and “Platinum” Mike Perry, BKFC's King of Violence Champion. Also in attendance was undefeated BKFC lightweight sensation Bryce “Baba Yaga” Henry, fan-favorite Paige VanZant and combat sports icon Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez, among many others.

The No. 1 contender in BKFC’s stacked bantamweight division, Justin “Joy Boy” Ibarrola of Delray Beach, FL, dug deep to up his record to 8-0 at the expense of Roberto “El Gallo Negro” Armas. The back-and-forth fight was judged a split decision, with two judges scoring the contest 48-47 for Ibarrola, and one judge calling it 48-47 for Armas. Armas, a veteran of the United States Air Force from Charleston, SC, is now 4-5 in the Squared Circle.

Former BKFC World Featherweight Title challenger Howard “HD” Davis climbed to 9-3-1 with an action-packed, split-decision victory over the previously unbeaten Drako “The Great Drakolini” Rodriguez in lightweight action. Two judges scored the fight in favor of the Broward County, FL fighter Davis (49-46, 48-47), while one judge scored it 48-47 for the UFC vet Rodriguez. Davis entered Saturday’s action the No. 5 contender in BKFC’s lightweight division. Rodriguez, who hails from Sioux City, IA, is now 2-1 in the Squared Circle.

Former BKFC World Middleweight Champion Francesco Ricchi proved that he’s still one of the most dangerous fighters on the BKFC roster with a stunning, one-punch KO over Dallas “The Dentist” Davison. Time of the stoppage was 1:27 in the second round. The Italian-born Fort Lauderdale, FL middleweight contender is now 7-2 on the strength of back-to-back wins in the Squared Circle. The Great Falls, MT product Davison falls to 3-4 in his BKFC career with the loss.

Former BKFC World Women’s Flyweight Title challenger Christine “La Abusadora” Vicens smashed her way back into the win column with a dominant 85-second TKO over Jenny Savage. Vicens is now 4-1 in the Squared Circle, with her only loss coming against Christine “Misfit” Ferea, who was in attendance Saturday. BKFC World Women’s Bantamweight Champion Jessica “The Black Widow” Borga was also in attendance. Vicens entered Saturday’s action as the No. 3 contender in the BKFC women’s flyweight division. Savage, a product of Clarksville, TN, is now 3-4 in the Squared Circle after accepting Saturday’s fight on short notice. She entered fight night the No. 5 contender in BKFC women’s strawweight division.

Fort Pierce, FL cruiserweight Steve “Tomahawk” Townsel scored his second straight stoppage victory in the Squared Circle with his third-round, standing TKO over the previously unbeaten Keith “The Officer” Richardson. Townsel recorded a pair of knockdowns en route to the finish 55 seconds into the third round, upping his bare knuckle record to 5-4 in the process. Townsel entered fight night as the No. 5 contender in BKFC’s cruiserweight division. Richardson, who hails from Hollywood, CA, is now 2-1 in his BKFC career.

Unbeaten Uruguayan welterweight Gaston “Tonga” Reyno, a member of the UFC’s Spanish broadcast team, improved to 2-0 in the Squared Circle, defeating “Lord” Milton Volter in the opening bout of Saturday’s Main Card. Volter’s corner stopped the fight at 1:41 of the third round.

“I have two more fights, and it would be a dream come true to (bring BKFC) to Uruguay,” the fan-favorite Reyno said in his post-fight interview. “I want to help bring this event to South America.”

Volter, who represents the Bronx, NY, was making his BKFC debut.

After 18 months on the sideline, Grand Rapids, MI’s Esteban “Mohawk” Rodriguez made history with a jaw-dropping, three-second KO over the previously unbeaten Julio “The Cuban Horse” Perez — good for the fastest finish in the history of BKFC’s cruiserweight division. Rodriguez is now 4-1 in BKFC’s cruiserweight division and called for his shot at the weight class’ World Champion, Chris Camozzi, in his post-fight interview.

“Chris Camozzi, you know what time it is. I told you before, player, I’m coming. I’m coming, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Justin Watson holds the record for the fastest finish in BKFC history (2 seconds, vs. Cole Ferrell at BKFC 69). Ulysses Diaz now shares with Rodriguez the second fastest finish in the organization’s history (3 seconds, vs. Donelei Benedetto at BKFC 14).

The Cuban-born Miami product Perez entered fight night with first-round finishes in all three of his fights with BKFC.

“Brutal” Jake Bostwick extended his unbeaten streak to four fights in the Squared Circle with a first-round TKO over Leo “Lionheart” Carrera in their meeting of Miami-based middleweights. The English-born Bostwick sent Carrera to the canvas twice before the bout ended 53 seconds into the opening frame. Bostwick is now 4-2-1 in BKFC action, while Carrera falls to 2-2 under the BKFC banner.

Broward County, FL flyweight “Rambo” Russo returned to the win column with a first-round KO victory over Justyn Martinez in the opening matchup of the night. The bout was stopped with just four seconds remaining in the first round. Russo is now 3-1 in the Squared Circle, with all of his wins coming by first-round finish. Martinez, who brought a two-fighting winning streak into Saturday’s action, is now 2-5, 1 NC in his BKFC career.

BKFC 78 Results

Leonardo Perdomo def. Arnold Adams via KO in Round 1 (1:26)

Gee Perez vs. Andrew Strode declared No Contest in Round 2 (2:00)

For Vacant Interim BKFC Flyweight World Title

Bryan Duran vs. Robbie Peralta declared Majority Draw (47-47x2, 48-46 Peralta)

Justin Ibarrola def. Roberto Armas via Split Decision (48-47x2, 47-48)

Howard Davis def. Drako Rodriguez via Split Decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)

Francesco Ricchi def. Dallas Davison via KO in Round 2 (1:27)

Christine Vicens def. Jenny Savage via TKO in Round 1 (1:25)

Steve Townsel def. Keith Richardson via TKO in Round 3 (0:55)

Gaston Reyno def. Milton Volter via TKO in Round 3 (1:41)

Esteban Rodriguez def. Julio Perez via KO in Round 1 (0:03)