CONNOR TIERNEY SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS BKFC WELTERWEIGHT UK TITLE IN BKFC-77 MAIN EVENT
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Birmingham, England (June 28, 2025) Connor “Brum Town Bomber” Tierney defended his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) Welterweight UK Title for the first time on Saturday night by defeating former BKFC Light-Heavyweight UK Champion Danny “The Bastard” Christie via technical knockout in the main event of BKFC-77 at the sold-out Bp Pulse LIVE in Tierney’s hometown of Birmingham, England.
Christie’s corner stopped the fight 14 seconds into the fourth round. Tierney is now 9-2 on the strength of back-to-back victories, while the Carlisle, England product Christie’s record moves to 5-3 in defeat.
Saturday’s event aired LIVE worldwide on The BKFC App.
In the BKFC-77 co-main event, Johannesburg, South African light-heavyweight Chas “Bad News” Wasserman smashed his way to 2-2 in the squared circle with a second-round knockout at the expense of professional gloved boxing standout Jamie Cox. The fight was called to a stop 40 seconds into the second frame after Wasserman logged the first knockdown of the fight. Cox, who hails from Swindon, England, brought a 26-2 professional gloved boxing record into Saturday’s BKFC debut.
In the BKFC-77 feature fight, Stoke-On-Trent, England’s Matt “The Mechanic” Wiwczaryk climbed to 2-1 in his bare-knuckle career by defeating Marley “The Tank” Churcher in a hard-fought, unanimous decision. All three judges agreed on the 49-46 verdict. The Thatcham, England product Churcher is now 3-4 in bare knuckle action.
Former BKFC World Lightweight Championship challenger James “Lights Out” Lilley improved his overall record to 9-3-1 with a technical knockout over Madrid, Spain’s Fran “Mi Vida Loca” Suarez in lightweight action after Suarez failed to answer the bell at the onset of the third frame. The Swansea, Wales fighter is now 2-2, Suarez also moves to 2-2 in bare knuckle.
Burnley, England’s “One Smack” Jack Dugdale lived up to his nickname in his BKFC premiere, stopping “Bonzai” Frankie Gavin of Birmingham by knockout just 52 seconds into the opening round of their welterweight showdown. Dugdale is now 4-1 in his bare-knuckle career; Gavin, who boasts a professional gloved boxing record of 26-4, was making his debut in the sport.
West Bromwich, England’s Tom Stokes picked himself up off the canvas and rallied for a come-from-behind, second-round knockout victory over Ryan “The Tank” Aston of Dudley, England in welterweight action. The bout was called to a stop with just one second left in the second stanza.
Black Country, England’s Dawid “Macho” Chylinski needed just 46 seconds to knock out Jimmy Wallhead of Loughborough, England in their lightning-fast, light-heavyweight matchup. Chylinski logged two knockdowns in the fight and upped his overall record to 4-2 in the process. Wallhead was making his BKFC debut.
Bristol, England’s Mario Soo was victorious in his BKFC premiere, sending Ricky “The Birmingham Bull” Nelder to the canvas three times before their cruiserweight bout was stopped at 1:22 in the third frame. Nelder is now 5-5 in his bare-knuckle career.
Debuting Tilburg Noord, Netherlands featherweight Jelle “Barbarius” Zeegers recorded two knockdowns en route to a stoppage victory over Torquay, England’s Toby “The War Dog” Bindon. The fight was called to a stop via technical knockout at 1:54 of the second round. Bindon was also making his BKFC premiere. Bindon is now 2-4 in bare knuckle.
Ramsgate, England’s Mac "Attack" Bygraves climbed to 3-0, earning the decision victory over “Gorgeous” George Thorpe of Birmingham in middleweight action. All three judges agreed on the winner (50-45, 48-47, 49-47). Thorpe moves to 2-1.
Coventry, England heavyweight Krzysztof “Big Man” Wisniewski turned heads in his BKFC premiere, recording the second-round knockout over Thai Tetley of Nottingham, England. Time of the stoppage was 1:49 in the second frame. Wisniewski’s overall bare-knuckle record is 2-0; Tetley was making his debut in the sport.
Birmingham’s Kris Trezise edged out Paul “The One Man Army” O’Sullivan of Burton On Trent, England for the decision win in their back-and-forth middleweight showdown. Two judges scored the fight 48-45 while one had it 47-46, all in favor of Trezise, who upped his bare-knuckle record to 5-2 with the win. O’Sullivan is now 1-2 in his bare knuckle career.
Birmingham’s Liam “The Ginge from Shard End” Smyth was victorious in his BKFC premiere as the social media star stopped Rafal “The Assassin” Witkoski of Coventry, England in the fourth round of their heavyweight matchup. The knockout put a stop to the fight with just four seconds remaining in the fourth frame. Witkoski was also making his BKFC debut.
BKFC-77 Results
(C) Connor Tierney def. Danny Christie via TKO in Round 4 (0:14)
Defends BKFC UK Welterweight Title
Matthew Wiwczaryk def. Marley Churcher via Unanimous Decision (49-46x3)
James Lilley def. Fran Suarez via TKO in Round 2 (2:00)
Jack Dugdale def. Frankie Gavin via KO in Round 1 (0:52)
Tom Stokes def. Ryan Aston via KO in Round 2 (1:59)
Dawid Chylinski def. Jimmy Wallhead via KO in Round 1 (0:46)
Mario Soo def. Ricky Nelder via TKO in Round 3 (1:22)
Jelle Zeegers def. Toby Bindon via TKO in Round 2 (1:54)
Mac Bygraves def. George Thorpe via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 48-47, 49-47).
Krzysztof Wisniewski def. Thai Tetley via KO in Round 2 (1:49)
Kris Trezise def. Paul O’Sullivan via Unanimous Decision (48-45x2, 47-46)
Liam Smyth def. Rafal Witkoski via KO in Round 4 (1:56)
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Website: www.BKFC.com
Media Contact/Credentials
Bernie Bahrmasel
Double B Sports
Phone: + 1 773 592-2986
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.
