“The Marine” Mike Richman victorious atop outstanding BKFC Clearwater event

Former Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) World Champion “The Marine” Mike Richman was victorious in his highly anticipated return in the main event of the outstanding BKFC Clearwater event on Friday night at the sold-out OCC Road House & Museum in Clearwater, FL.

Richman, who hails from Minneapolis, MN, ended his nine-month layoff from fighting with a fifth-round technical knockout over Erick “El Travieso” Lozano in the light-heavyweight division. Richman sent Lozano to the canvas twice before their fight was stopped 53 seconds into the final round.

“A lot of things went through my mind when I said I was going to retire, but I knew I still had a lot in me. That’s what drew me back; I knew I still had a lot in me. That’s why I’m here,” Richman told the Clearwater faithful.

“Erick Lozano is a beast; he’s a monster. I knew it was going to be a challenging fight … It was very important to show that I’m still a dog. I feel good and healthy again.”

Richman’s record is now 6-2, 1 NC; Lozano is 3-3.

In Friday’s co-main event, Elvin “El Bandido” Brito shocked fans with a jaw-dropping, 40-second knockout of the previously undefeated Ja’Far Fortt “Knox” in their highly anticipated welterweight matchup. The Puerto Rican Brito, a former BKFC World Champion, snapped a three-fight losing skid with his victory and upped his BKFC record to 6-4 with the win. Fortt, who hails from Tampa, FL, sees his record move to 3-1 with the loss.

A fired-up Brito called out BKFC World Welterweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout after his big win. “Give me Trout. I’m the champ,” he told the sold-out OCC Road House & Museum crowd. “You’re not the champ unless you beat me. I’m the champ; I’m at the top of the mountain.”

Tyler ‘The Rookie’ Randall, the No. 2 contender in the BKFC flyweight division, edged out #1 ranked contender JR ‘The Lion’ Ridge for the split-decision victory in Friday’s feature fight. Randall, a product of Hoosick Falls, NY, upped his BKFC record to 3-2 with the win, while the Filipino-born Tampa, FL fighter Ridge moved to 3-4. Two judges scored the bout in favor of Randall (49-46, 48-47), and one judge had it 48-47 for Ridge, a former BKFC World Flyweight Title challenger.

Abdiel ‘The Nightmare’ Velazquez dropped Travis ‘The Animal’ Thompson twice enroute to a 66-second knockout victory for the Puerto Rican-born Springhill, FL fighter. Velazquez is now 4-4 under the BKFC banner. Thompson, who entered fight night as the #5 ranked contender in the BKFC bantamweight division, falls to 5-6 with the loss.

Saginaw, MI’s Jay ‘Action’ Jackson lived up to his nickname with a big win at the expense of Idrees ‘Grumpy Bear’ Wasi of Sacramento, CA in the light-heavyweight division. The doctor called a halt to the bout at the conclusion of the third round. With the victory, Jackson improves to 4-3 in the Squared Circle, while Wasi moves to 1-3.

Jessica ‘The Black Widow’ Borga of Lakeland, FL smashed her way to 2-0 with a first-round knockout over German-born Denver, CO product Katharina ‘The German Gypsy’ Lehner in their women’s featherweight bout. Time of the stoppage was 41 seconds into the first round. Lehner is now 0-1.

Miami’s Leonel ‘Lionheart’ Carerra upped his BKFC record to 1-1 with a technical knockout against Mike Heckert of St. Petersburg in middleweight action. The ringside doctor stopped the bout at the conclusion of the second round due to Heckert’s eye injury.

Angel ‘OG’ Hernandez made history Friday as the Brandon, FL product notched an eight-second knockout over Trinidad, TX’s Rayne “The Guy on the Couch” Wells in their battle of debuting lightweights. The lightning-fast finish is good for the third fastest stoppage victory in BKFC history.

In the first fight of the night, Quentin ‘GQ’ Gaskins of St. Petersburg, FL was victorious in his BKFC debut, scoring a first-round technical knockout over Lancaster, PA’s Zach “Lil Mac” Pannell. Their back-and-forth featherweight battle was called to a stop by the ringside physician at the conclusion of the first round. Pannell’s record fell to 1-1 with the loss.