Keegan Vandermeer clashes with Sawyer Depee in the main event of BKFC Prospect Series: Denver on May 31.
He is fighting the number four ranked BKFC cruiserweight here in Depee. For Vandermeer, this is exciting some days and nerve-wracking other days but he is in it for the thrill per his own words.
The native of Cedar City, Utah is a cerebral, meticulous fighter. This was noticed with how much he familiarized himself with crowd noises and the opponent taking up space in his head. This is done so as to thoughtfully approach things day to day in camp. But to also be ready for fight night itself.
This will be Vandermeer’s third BKFC fight in Denver now. The higher altitude spot is familiar enough with the area that he describes it as where his fight sport endeavors really started. Vandermeer likes competing here and is the home for his combative career.
Keegan Vandermeer
The patience in Depee is a noticeable variable for Vandermeer heading into this one. Sawyer Depee has also been in there with guys who’ve contended for titles across multiple divisions including the specific weight category he’s in, cruiserweight.
Quentin Henry fits the bill for being a previous cruiserweight title contender in the company that Depee faced. But he has also fought Uly Diaz who was in BKFC’s inaugural middleweight title fight for the then-vacant crown.
For someone with BKFC world title aspirations, this would seemingly behoove Vandermeer in a lot of regards. To that, Keegan Vandermeer said,
“It does, and I take a lot of pride in being able to be placed in that spot. It’s for me like just kind of like speaking to my competitor spirit, you know, you’re right, you know. What I want is I want the best. I want the best of the best and I’m out here to test myself. To test the threshold of the capability.”
“So, and with something like this, securing a win over Sawyer Depee would not only on paper would that look good. But in like the realms of life period, you know, that’s a pretty big notch. That’s a pretty big notch. He’s legendary in his own right, you know. He’s like, you know, like you said he’s been in with people who are strong and he’s been in there with champions. So it’s actually an honor and a privilege. I take it very seriously.”
BKFC Prospect Series: Denver
Vandermeer has been working with flyweight Andrew Strode who’s in the co-main event of this BKFC Prospect Series: Denver card. The two are keeping each other accountable and have a strong camaraderie leading into the card with an attitude of “we’re all in this together”.
Keegan Vandermeer learned from his last fight with another top-five-ranked cruiserweight Esteban Rodriguez that he needs to bring a bit more of a calculated pressure in this fight. To earn the respect right off the bat but not overly risk it so as to play right into his opponent’s game plan and overextend to his detriment.
Depee possesses a pair of back-to-back, first-round finishes heading into this bout. Vandermeer also has a pair of opening-round finishes within the BKFC ring. This is a don’t blink because it’s gonna pop off, fireworks guaranteed sort of fight and it all goes down Friday night.
