Nathan Rivera is set to face Tray Martin at BKFC Nashville on June 19th. In a recent interview, Rivera shared his initial thoughts on the matchup.
โIโm great. Thanks for having me, man. Yeah, dude. Nashville, itโs a new state for the company, a new state for the sport. So Iโm super excited that I was selected to open up another state.โ
Reflecting on the significance of helping Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship expand into new territories, Rivera commented on the pride he takes in such opportunities.
โYeah, I became a fan of Bare Knuckle when I watched it live for the first time. When I had already fought, and I went to the back room, changed out, and then I started watching the fights after. It was my first fight. I was early on the card and I realized dude, this is exciting. So part of the event itโs definitely; I donโt take it lightly at all. I do believe it is like what what you said, it is a certain level of responsibility to give the fans what they want. So I remember I opened up Virginia, Atlanta, Michigan. So now another one in Nashville. Iโm super, super excited.โ
Following his recent victory over Tommy Strydom, a former 145-pound title challenger, Rivera discussed his fighting philosophy and career progression.
โYeah, man. I just, I like to fight. I just love to fight, and I want to fight the best guys on the roster. Itโs cool because what Iโm learning now is once you get that co-main or you get that main or whatever you get, itโs very rare that you go backwards. I want to continue to go up the same way. My last fight was a co-main, and it was against the former number one contender. He fought for the belt, and that was his only loss. So, I felt like that was fitting.โ
โNow again to be co-main against Tray Martin whoโs only 1 and 0 in the company. But has a wealth of knowledge and experience outside the squared circle. Itโs definitely an honor to be co-main. Iโve never been the main event for BKFC, but I kind of like the idea of being co-main, going back and changing, and then giving everybody a hug that came out to support me.โ
Nathan Rivera Discusses Key Contenders in BKFC Featherweight Division
While acknowledging Tray Martin as a dangerous opponent, Rivera addressed speculation about facing another ranked BKFC featherweight.
โYeah, it didnโt go without trying. We tried. Of course, we would love to get the number one contender fight. From Edgard [Plazaolaโs] point of view, I can understand why that wasnโt super, super [appealing]. He didnโt jump on that opportunity. Heโs number one, heโs ahead of me. He wants to fight for the belt next. I could see why he wouldnโt want to go backwards to get a risky fight. Tray was definitely not the first option. We had a lot of guys that we had sent contracts out to, and we didnโt get anything.โ
โIโm not saying all these guys were scared of me or something like that. I think it was four or five guys that just didnโt work out in a row. So it was getting a little disheartening, but I remember whenever my manager sent me the name, he was like, โAny interest in that?โ I was thinking to myself, Tray Martin, I thought I saw that guy fight live at like 165. Then I looked it up, and he was fighting at 165, but he weighed in at like 153. So obviously very, very under the limit.โ
โDefinitely a natural 45er, but I didnโt really have my eyes on him before cuz I thought, okay, this guyโs nowhere near my weight class. But itโs one of those fights where every fightโs a risky fight. I think being the favorite, just calling it what it is, being the favorite is definitely a different set of pressures, especially in the bare-knuckle squared circle. Itโs a different experience. Heโs coming from 17 professional fights. I think he just won maybe two weeks ago. He had a second-round finish in boxing.โ
โSo heโs current, heโs young, heโs hungry. Itโs like he has nothing to lose and I have everything to lose kind of mentality. So Iโm super excited. I think the clash between those two mentalities and our two styles was like a; itโs definitely fireworks [that are] going to be happening for the fans.โ
Rivera emphasized that he does not underestimate any opponent, despite Martin being less known in the bare-knuckle scene.
โYeah, and I do think that every fight is the most important fight. I think that thatโs the case. I think that maybe a win over Tray Martin could bump me to the number one contender. Iโm not positive. Plazaola is 6 and 0. Iโm 5-0. I would say that Plazaolaโs best win was against Gary Fox, heโs not a slouch by any means. Heโs four and three. His last fight was Gary Fox. My last fight was Tommy Strydom. One of them was a former number one contender.โ
โOne of them fought for the US belt. One of them has the UK belt. So, itโs just kind of like, I think those caliber fighters are kind of equal. So, I think itโs a race to see who gets to 7-0 first to be the number one contender. But who knows? I donโt know who does the rankings. I donโt know who makes them. I do think that thereโs a lot of guys that are pretty good that are not in the rankings.โ
โI think that hopefully in the near future we can get the rankings mixed up with some of these real big dogs from other promotions. Like oh, thereโs a guy that just came from BKB and just won. I think heโs like 7 or 8-0 nowโฆ Harry [Gigliotti], heโs another guy that is not in the rankings, but I think he should be in the rankings from his resume. So, thereโs just so many fighters in the โ45 division, and Iโm just happy to be in the mix.โ
