Agi Faulkner is New BKFC European Heavyweight King
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returned to the United Kingdom for the 11th time on Saturday for BKFC-68 with BKFC Partner Conor McGregor in attendance at the sold-out Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England.
In Saturday’s highly anticipated main event, the undefeated Agi Faulkner won the vacant BKFC European Heavyweight Title with a show-stopping, second-round knockout over challenger David Oscar, who entered fight night as the #5 ranked in the BKFC heavyweight division.
Faulkner picked himself up off the canvas and logged five knockdowns of his own before ending the contest just five seconds into the second round. Faulkner, who represents Egremont, England, climbed to 3-0 in the squared circle with his victory. The Polish-born Oscar is now 4-2 in his BKFC career.
Conor “Da Crook” Cooke upped his BKFC record to 4-1 with a hard-fought, unanimous decision over Matty “The Hammer” Hodgson in the BKFC-68 co-main event. The bout was for the vacant BKFC United Kingdom Light-Heavyweight Title, but Cooke missed weight and was thus ineligible to win the belt. All three judges scored the fight 50-45 in favor of the Antrim, North Ireland fighter. Hodgson, who hails from Wakefield, England, is now 2-1 in his BKFC career.
Ben “The Bomber” Bonner silenced the sold-out Utilita Arena crowd with a shocking one-punch knockout over previously unbeaten Newcastle fighter Lewis “The Machine” Keen in their lightweight feature fight. The match was stopped with 16 seconds remaining in the opening round. The Middleborough, England fighter improved to 3-2 with his victory, while Keen’s record dropped to 3-1 in defeat.
Fast-rising Sedgefield, England cruiserweight Karl “The Wasp” Thompson smashed his way to 3-0 under the BKFC banner with a third-round technical knockout over the previously undefeated Dawid “Macho” Chylinski. Time of the stoppage was 1:25 in the third stanza. The Wolverhampton, England-based Chylinski is now 3-1 in his bare-knuckle career.
Anthony “The Yorkshire Gladiator” Holmes earned his fifth BKFC victory in style with a one-punch knockout over Chaz “Bad News” Wasserman in light-heavyweight action. The stoppage came at 1:33 in the second frame. The Castleford, England fighter is now 5-2-1 in his BKFC career. Wasserman, who hails from Johannesburg, South Africa, is now 1-2.
Middleweight Bart “The Polish King” Krol is now 4-1 in his bare-knuckle career following his unanimous decision victory over Matthew “The Martyr” Wiwczaryk. All three judges scored the contest 49-45 for the Pila, Poland product, who logged the sole knockdown of the fight. Stoke-On-Trent’s Wiwczaryk saw his bare-knuckle record fall to 1-1 with the loss.
Gary Fox sent John Spencer to the canvas four times, paving the way to a second-round technical knockout victory in their lightweight showdown. The Billingham, England fighter is now 3-2; the Manchester, England-based Spencer falls to 0-2.
The undefeated Bradley Taylor dominated Robbie Brown in their matchup of Hartlepool, England bantamweights. Taylor scored five knockdowns en route to climbing to 3-0 in his BKFC career. Two judges scored the bout 50-40 while one judge had it 50-42. Brown’s record dropped to 2-3 with the loss.
Welterweight prospect Luke “The Nightmare” Beamish improved to 2-0 under the BKFC banner with a hard-fought unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Paul Cook. Two judges scored the fight 48-47 while one had it 49-46, all in favor of the Birkenhead, England product. Cook, who hails from Hebburn, England, is now 2-1 in his bare-knuckle career.
Matty “Mad Dog” Hill of Northallerton, England evened his BKFC record to 1-1 with a second-round KO at the expense of Liverpool, England’s Lee “The Banger” Browne in the heavyweight division. Time of the stoppage was 1:48 in the second frame. Browne’s record fell to 2-5 with the defeat.
Danny “The Destroyer” Moir upped his BKFC record to 3-0 with a second-round TKO over Kyle Redfearn in light-heavyweight action. The doctor stopped the fight at 1:51 of the second frame due to a nasty cut around the eye of Redfearn. Moir, who hails from Scarborough, England, picked himself up off the canvas to score the win. The debuting Redfearn, who represents Ferryhill, England, is now 0-1 in his BKFC career.
BKFC-68 Results
Agi Faulkner def. David Oscar via KO in Round 2 (0:05) – For vacant BKFC European Heavyweight Title
Conor Cooke def Matty Hodgson via Unanimous Decision (50-45×3)
Ben Bonner def. Lewis Keen via KO in Round 1 (1:44)
Karl Thompson def. Dawid Chylinski via TKO in Round 3 (1:25)
Anthony Holmes def. Chaz Wasserman via KO in Round 2 (1:33)
Bart Krol def. Matthew Wiwczaryk via Unanimous Decision (49-45×3)
Gary Fox def. John Spencer via TKO in Round 2 (0:54)
Bradley Taylor def. Robbie Brown via Unanimous Decision (50-40×2, 50-42)
Luke Beamish def. Paul Cook via Unanimous Decision (48-47×2, 49-46)
Matty Hill def. Lee Browne via KO in Round 2 (1:48)
Danny Moir def. Kyle Redfearn via TKO in Round 2 (1:51)
