OMAHA, Nebraska – Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship presented BKFC 43 on Friday evening at the packed Liberty First Credit Union Arena – and the fighters delivered a show for the ages, live on the BKFC App.
Undoubtedly one of the most exciting fights of the year took place in the BKFC 43 main event. In what can only be accurately described as a back-and-forth battle for the ages, local fighting legend Houston “The Assassin” Alexander (4-0) proved that age is just a number. The 51-year-old cutting up Jeremy “Pitbull” Smith (3-1) with blistering body shots to the head in the first two rounds, had to hold off a huge rally in the second half of the fight to come away with the unanimous decision victory. Alexander valiantly survived a vicious body assault in the final stanza to win a unanimous decision by scores of 48-46, 48-46 and 48-47. South African Smith was credited with a remarkable 105 body shots during the fight.
In the hotly anticipated BKFC 43 co-main event, Dakota Cochrane made an entry for “Knockout of the Year” honors with his first-round, one-punch KO over Noah Cutter in the middleweight division. With the 56-second win – the fastest finish of Cochrane’s extended bare-knuckle fighting career – he improved to 5-2 with three KOs. Cutter fell to 3-6 with the loss. Cochrane, a winner of two straight, is hungry to prove he belongs among the best middleweights under the BKFC banner: “I’m always ready. One day, two days, 100 days – I don’t give a f-ck. Let’s go.”
In the evening’s feature fight, former UFC headliner Jimmie “El Terror” Rivera earned the first win of his BKFC career, defeating the debuting Bekhzod “Lion” Usmonov in featherweight action. With the win, Rivera climbed to 1-0-1. Scores were 48-47 on all three judges’ scorecards.
In a battle of exciting lightweights, Sean “P-Town” Wilson returned to the win column with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Brandon Meyer. Wilson is now 3-1, while Meyer drops to 1-1. All three judges scored the fight 50-44.
Alonzo “AAA” Martinez smashed his way to 3-0 in the squared circle by defeating Jeremy Sauceda via TKO (corner stoppage) at the end of the fourth round of their light-heavyweight match. Sauceda fell to 1-1.
Carlos “Uzumaki” Trinidad-Snake cemented his status as one of the most dangerous fighters in the stacked BKFC welterweight division with his unanimous decision victory over former division champ Elvin “El Bandido” Brito, who entered fight night as the No. 1 contender in the weight class. Trinidad-Snake upped his perfect record to 4-0, while Brito fell to 5-4 with his second straight loss. Scores were 49-45, 48-46 and 48-46.
Fast-rising cruiserweight prospect Ryan Braun needed just 17 seconds to take out the debuting Andrew Potter via knockout. Braun is now 2-0, with both of his victories coming by first-round stoppage.
Top Canadian prospect Jade “Evil Smile” Masson-Wong climbed to 2-1 under the BKFC banner with a unanimous decision victory over former BKFC world women’s flyweight championship challenger Taylor “Killa Bee” Starling. Starling, who entered fight night as the No. 2 contender in the division, has now lost back-to-back fights after starting her BKFC career with three straight wins. Scores were 50-44, 48-46 and 48-46.
Jeff Souder opened the BKFC 43 main card with a decisive unanimous decision victory over Idrees “Grumpy Bear” Wasi in their cruiserweight matchup. The former University of Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker improved to 2-1, while Wasi fell to 1-2. Scores were 50-43 on all three score cards.
In one of the more odd finishes of the year, top South African prospect Tommy “The Farmer” Strydom knocked out Josh Krejci with a shoulder strike, finishing their featherweight bout in round 2. Strydom is now 2-0, and Krejci is 1-1.
Esteban “Mohawk” Rodriguez continued to establish himself as a legitimate light-heavyweight prospect as he knocked down opponent Jaquis Williams three times en route to winning by TKO in 86 seconds. He climbed to 2-0 with a second straight finish, while Williams fell to 0-1.
To open the card, the debuting Corey “Pitbull” Roberts defeated his former grappling instructor and former MMA opponent, T.J. Benson, via knockout 45 seconds into the second round of their featherweight matchup. Benson’s BKFC record dropped to 0-3.
