Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) made a significant impact in its Tennessee debut with BKFC Fight Night Nashville. The sold-out event, held at The Pinnacle in Nashville, TN, delivered exciting matchups and unexpected outcomes.
In the highly anticipated main event, JC DeLeon secured a victory against former BKFC World Title contender Tony “Loco” Soto. Soto’s corner stopped the fight at the end of the third round, awarding DeLeon the win. DeLeon, now holding a 3-1 record in BKFC, expressed his respect for Soto and his ambition to continue climbing the ranks. Soto, a previously ranked lightweight contender, now stands at 6-4 in his BKFC career.
The co-main event also saw a major upset as Tray “Big Dog” Martin defeated the #2 ranked featherweight contender, Nathan “The Reaper” Rivera. After five closely contested rounds, Martin emerged victorious in the overtime round via judges’ decision. Martin, who is now 2-0, called out BKFC Featherweight Champion Kai Stewart and Bryan Duran after his win, highlighting his extensive combat sports experience.
In another notable performance, Bobby “ODB” Taylor delivered an impressive display in the featured fight, scoring six knockdowns on his way to a second-round technical knockout victory over Angel “OG” Hernandez. Taylor improved his record to 7-4, while Hernandez moved to 1-2.
The event also featured the first-ever BKFC Ironweight bout, where Prince McLean defeated Jeramy Karshner by technical knockout in the opening round. Other results included Cole Ferrell’s dominant TKO win over Quintan Foye, Ravon Baxter’s swift TKO victory against Junior Hicks, Caleb Harvey’s unanimous decision win in his BKFC debut over Josh Whiteside, Zach Russ’s quick TKO of Kelvin Rayford, Payton Hayes’ impressive debut TKO against Julian Valencia, and Joby Steffensmeier’s split-decision win over Robert Fichtner in the first-ever BKFC fight held in Tennessee.
BKFC Fight Night Nashville Notable Results:
- JC DeLeon def. Tony Soto via TKO (Round 3)
- Tray Martin def. Nathan Rivera via Unanimous Decision (Overtime Round)
- Bobby Taylor def. Angel Hernandez via TKO (Round 2)
- Prince McLean def. Jeramy Karshner via TKO (Round 1)
- Cole Ferrell def. Quintan Foye via TKO (Round 5)
- Ravon Baxter def. Junior Hicks via TKO (Round 1)
- Caleb Harvey def. Josh Whiteside via Unanimous Decision
- Zach Russ def. Kelvin Rayford via TKO (Round 1)
- Payton Hayes def. Julian Valencia via KO (Round 1)
- Joby Steffensmeier def. Robert Fichtner via Split Decision
