Photo credit to BKFC, Jerry Chavez
Jake Lindsey discusses Derrick Findley clash at BKFC 23
Jake Lindsey tests skills with Derrick Findley at BKFC 23. This bare-knuckle bout goes down on April 8th at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
I spoke with Lindsey ahead of this one and excerpts from our chat are below.
Jake Lindsey
If Lindsey thinks a victory here could net him a spot in the rankings
“For sure. I’ve had my eye on BKFC for a long time. The sport suits me really well and I 100% believe I could be the champion in my division. Derrick Findley, though he lost his last fight, he put on a really good showing and he’s very talented. A good win over him once I finish him because I’m gonna put him down. His last fight went to decision, I’m gonna put him down for sure. But a good dominant victory over him will line me up for at least a title eliminator. Then yeah, I think one more after this one I’m in line for the title.”
Past work w/ Dave Rickels and if they trained together as The Caveman readies to headline BKFC 23
“Unfortunately, no. Me and Dave didn’t get a chance to spar and get together. But I mean, me and him have been training together for 15 years. For this camp, I’ve been working with a group of boxers down here in Manhattan. But I mean, it’s always like that. You’re always super motivated. If it’s just me on the card, I’m really motivated anyway.”
“But when you have your boys on the card. We have David Rickels, we have Isaac Doolittle. He’s a close friend of mine, ex training partner. You have me, you have Jessica Link. You have all the local Kansas people. It really puts an extra fire in you to come out there and kind of perform well. Not just for yourself but to represent them as well.”
BKFC 23
Thoughts on the skillset of Derrick Findley and what Lindsey thinks he does well
“He clearly has an extensive professional boxing background. He’s done some pro boxing. He’s been in some really good camps like he’s been involved in some high-level boxing. Sparring with some pretty high level guys. And he does a couple of things. He parrys very well. Pulls and slips pretty well. He doesn’t move particularly well. Beneficially for me, the things he does really well. He does the Boxing things really well. Parrying and the Philly shell blocking. But that doesn’t really work in bare-knuckle. You don’t have a glove on your hand.”
“You can’t sit there in the Philly shell and block punches. Because unless they hit you directly on your hand, you’re getting hit with a knuckle on your eye socket or your forehead. So I would say he also pressures well. He walks forward but he is kind of just lumbering forward and just tries to counter. To his credit, he stays really well composed in the pocket. Which is another trait you get from doing all the rounds and rounds and rounds of Boxing. Being a former pro boxer, he’s really composed in the pocket.”
Jake Lindsey vs Derrick Findley
“When he was fighting in his last fight, some of the best success he had was in those moments where they were in the pocket but not clinched up… He landed some decent shots. He doesn’t clinch well at all, and that’s to be expected. Boxers do have quote-unquote boxers clinch but it’s not the same thing as a Greco Roman upper body clinch. It’s just not. He’s pretty inexperienced in that. And I think that played a factor in his loss. It seemed to fatigue him and it seemed to me watching him, he would just get close and he would just grab just because he could grab.”
“Because it was in the ruleset. But he’d almost choke his own range. Because he’d be close enough to hit and start throwing some inside chalk. Then he’d go ahead and start grappling. Then he’d start getting punched in the face because he didn’t know how to do the clinch work. So he does a lot of stuff really well for pure boxing. And again, he’s had one fight in BKFC. So we haven’t seen his whole skill set because he’s still getting used to it.”
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship
“But in terms of in bare-knuckle I mean he’s tough. He takes a shot really well. I’ll tell you that. He ate some clean punches. Looks like he hits decently hard. In his last fight, the guy he fought has a really good chin too. He never really seemed to hurt him per se. But he landed some real clean shots. If you just look at his frame and his stature, if you’re 5’7 fighting at ’65, you’re probably going to have a lot of muscle mass. Overall I would say, he is not stylistically matched up very well versus me.”
Jake Lindsey continued, “He needs a guy that’s probably a little shorter, can’t move as well. Is willing to sit there and just trade with him. Versus someone like me who has real natural, slick head movement, and I can switch up the range real quick. I’ll demolish him in the clinch like the clinch was my strong suit in MMA too. But yeah, that’s what I think about Mr. Findley.”
WATCH THE FREE BKFC 23 PRELIM FIGHTS AT 8PM ET BELOW:
ORDER AND WATCH THE BKFC 23 PAY-PER-VIEW BELOW:
