BKFC 56 Review: Perry Crowned King; Rowdy Bec Still Not Champ

The BKFC was in Salt Lake City, Utah, for BKFC 56. Three championship fights played out, as well as the crowning of the King of Violence accolade in the main event between former UFC fighter Mike Perry and his opponent Eddie Alvarez. Rebecca Rawlings was also in action as she looked to capture championship gold in her re-match with Christine Ferea.

Perry Goes 4-0 in BKFC

Mike Perry, arguably one of the BKFC’s biggest assets, has continued his success in the promotion by going 4-0 after his main event win against Eddie Alvarez and taking home the ‘King of the Violence’ moniker and title belt. Alvarez had arguably won the first round, yet both men landed significant blows, with both bleeding excessively come the midpoint of the second round with the commentators likening the bout to a Rocky Balboa fight. Upon the start of the third round, Alvarez’s corner was unwilling to let the fighter sustain any more damage as he didn’t seem able to function as expected.

Perry consolidated his opponent in a show of respect before shouting down the camera lens, ‘THIS IS MY HOUSE,’ showing the combat world that he is at home and successful in bare-knuckle competition. Alvarez said in his post-match conference that he is still very much dedicated to bare-knuckle and was respectful toward Perry.

Rowdy Bec Loses Out Again

Rowdy Bec Rawlings was again on the losing end of a championship fight as Christine Ferea picked up the unanimous decision victory after all five rounds. The last time they fought, Rawlings only managed to get through two rounds before the doctor stopped the fight, so there is an improvement, but it’s still not the desired result for the Australian fighter. Now at 3-3 in the BKFC, her record is beginning to look like her losing MMA 8-9 stature. At the age of 34, does she want to climb the bare-knuckle ranks yet again? After all, she must be making decent money from her OnlyFans she’s always talking about.

Christine Ferea left Utah with her hand raised in victory as well as her championship belt. While a lot was made of the pre-fight rivalry between the pair, both fighters appeared amicable toward one another after the decision was announced. Ferea then said that she wanted to fight Bellator champion Cris Cyborg, stating that the Brazilian has been a long-time idol of hers.

Stewart Goes 5-0 to Keep Title

The featherweight championship was also on the line here in Salt Lake City as undefeated champion Kai Stewart welcomed the challenge of Howard Davis. Well, ‘welcomed’ might not be quite the right word, given how fiery the pair were in the pre-match press conference. Stewart said he’d win this one-sided fight and that it would be a pounding, after which Davis made light of his opponent’s height and said he’d be hurting his opponent in the upcoming fight.

The reality was that the fight was pretty competitive, with both men scoring decent amounts of offense. The judges all scored it in favor of Stewart, with one official having it as close as 48-47. Stewart would remain undefeated in BKFC and retain his championship.

British Redemption Arc in Salt Lake City

British boxing news websites were pretty upset with the showing from the local fighters when the BKFC visited Leeds, England, earlier this year. The visiting fighters, mostly from the US, all got the better of their British counterparts, leading to a subdued enthusiasm for BKFC. Therefore, a lot of expectation was put on the shoulders of British fighter Mike Terrill ahead of his heavyweight title fight at BKFC 56. The vacated championship was also up for grabs to the veteran Arnold Adams.

Both men scored knockdowns during the fight, but Terrill was able to secure the win in the fourth round with a clubbing strike that would put Adams flat out on his back. Terrill then celebrated after being announced as the new BKFC heavyweight champion.

Bradshaw Scores KO Win in BKFC Debut

Trevor Bradshaw might not have had a stellar MMA career, having slipped to a less inspiring 6-9 record. However, upon his bare-knuckle boxing debut, he scored a very impressive KO win against fellow BKFC debutant Troy Dennison. The crowd seemed enthused for this fight, with both calling Utah their home. Bradshaw started strong as he scored a knockdown in the early going, which visibly dazed Dennison. The ref, however, allowed the fight to continue as he initially appeared to regain his composure.

Moments after allowing the fighters to go back at it, Bradshaw landed yet another strike, again putting his opponent firmly on the canvas. This time, the ref stepped in and said that he had seen enough. Bradshaw made a very impressive start to his BKFC career, while Dennison has work to do.

Bloodbath in Curtain Raiser

Boxing news sites had to be on hand from the very start of the night as the show opener between Danny Hilton and LJ Schultz was action-packed with violent strikes. The problem was that Hilton was far more effective than his adversary, leading to Schultz wearing a crimson-red mask by the end of the first round. The fighters were called to the center of the ring for the second round. However, the ref insisted that the doctor take a second look at Schultz as his eye was swelling more and more by the second. As such, the fight was waived off, with Hilton getting a stoppage win in the first fight of the night.

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