BKFC Philly was an exciting fight night effort on Friday, March 21. This served as the company’s sophomore effort in that market. After the massive success of BKFC KnuckleMania V in the city of brotherly love, the promotion returned. They came back to a more intimate venue for this fight night offering albeit in an iconic venue. The 2300 Arena as it’s known today was formerly the ECW arena.
This space showcased a groundbreaking group of renegade pro wrestlers through the 90’s and early 2000’s. The visceral fervor that permeated through the ECW arena years ago pulsated through the arena once again. Fans flocked to the corner of Swanson and Ritner to take in a great night of bare-knuckle boxing in Philadelphia.
BKFC Philly Headliner
Dustin Pague and Andrew Angelcor battled it out in the headliner of the night. Pague was previously a ranked welterweight in the promotion. For Angelcor, he usually fights at lightweight but was moving up for a challenge. Pague showcased good movement throughout as he actively switched stances. This while being offensively effective and defensively responsible at the same time.
While Angelcor seemed to be briefly rocked in the second stanza, the Barstow native began to find more success with his right hook over the top of the guard. Alas, Pague’s connectivity rate was demonstrably there in the form of a gaping cut on the forehead that caused the ringside doctor to wave off the bout for a second-round TKO victory in favor of Pague.
Cory Vidal vs. Brandon Conley was the co-main event bout with both men engaging in individual hard charges at the beginning of the contest. The two light heavyweights were game with Vidal seemingly aiming to crowd more and work at a tighter range while Conley seemed to prefer working at a greater distance.
Conley was deducted a point for an errant eye poke in the third round which ended up playing a big role in the bout’s verdict. The next two rounds saw both have their moments which lead to a majority draw verdict in the end.
Crowd Favorite
John Garbarino came in as one of the bigger crowd favorites of the night and showed out against Rayne Wells in the night’s feature fight. The composure and measured approach of Garbarino early on showcased a certain poise before dropping Wells under a flurry of lefts and rights which notched him a first-round knockout in forty-seven seconds.
Travis Thompson vs. AJ Craig was a clash between an OG in Thompson who has been with the promotion since BKFC 1 and Craig who was aiming to notch a statement win in bare knuckle boxing. Thompson aimed to crowd Craig early and work in body shots from the clinch whilst on the ropes. Conversely, for Craig, he used a lot of lateral movement and counter-punching as he collected a first-round knockdown.
Craig was largely counterpunching at will with his footwork behooving him through the contest until a bloodied, bruised, but unbroken Thompson dropped Craig to the canvas in the final stanza. In the end, it wasn’t quite enough to notch a decision win as Craig would earn victory via unanimous decision.
Maurice Horne and Adam De Freitas was a bit clouded by some controversy toward the end. Both were active with the lead right hands in this rare southpaw versus southpaw battle. De Freitas sustained a slight forehead cut in the opening round. The Canadian combatant would drop Horne to the canvas in the first round. The two then had a back-and-forth flurry to end off the round.
Horne would then notch his own knockdown in the second stanza with De Freitas stumbling a bit after initially getting up causing the ref to wave it off. Even though Horne was the local fighter, there were many in the crowd who felt that the stoppage at the 1:08 mark was a bit on the premature side of things.
Ludlow vs. McKenna
Lex Ludlow vs. Connor McKenna was a heavyweight contest that saw the latter often try to goad the former into a firefight and overextend. Ludlow stayed measured and calculated with some of the bombs he was landing cutting up McKenna in the second frame. Ludlow kept finding a home for the jab followed by a power right overtop of the guard and mixed in body shots well to keep McKenna guessing.
Fatigue set in and while McKenna was more active in the later stages, Ludlow would get his hand raised in the end. The heavyweight BKFC debutant then used his post-fight interview to call out the legendary Fedor Emelianenko who Conor McGregor previously teased interest in adding to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship roster someday.
Historic BKFC finishes
Dalvin Blair versus Justin Walters was a blink-and-you-missed-it type of affair. Walters charged forward right off of scratch only to be finished right away. Blair secured a KO at the four-second mark which is now the third-fastest knockout in the history of BKFC.
Elijah Harris vs. Brandon Honsvick was another bare-knuckle boxing bout that ended in lightning-quick fashion. Honsvick was stiffened after a massive flurry of punches saw him crash to the canvas in a fencing position. Harris secured the fourth-fastest knockout in BKFC history at the seven-second mark.
BKFC Fight Night Philly
Pat Carroll versus Mike Furnier saw the former drop the latter with big rights early. Carroll kept the pressure on as a flurry of lefts and rights again put down Furnier. Mike Furnier was grimacing while holding the side of his head and was unable to beat the count. A noticeable hematoma emerged in the spot Furnier was favoring. Carroll made good on his BKFC debut with a forty-six-second KO win over the three-fight BKFC competitor, Furnier.
Also, Anthony Pagan, who was cornered by combat sports legend Eddie Alvarez, made a statement against Colin Reeser. Pagan dropped Reeser on three separate occasions and cut him up in the process. The opening bout of the evening was waved off fifty-two seconds in.
