Bulgarian Bulldozers Set for BKFC 58

The BKFC returns to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia after a successful first event in November. Kaloyan Kolev won his fight back at that event and is back in the main event, where he will fight Bulgarian MMA favorite Toni Markulev.

Kolev Looks for Second Win; Markulev Debuts

Two Bulgarian bulldozers are set to collide in the main event of BKFC 58 as Kaloyan Kolev fights Toni Markulev. Kolev was known to Bulgarian fight fans long ago as he was featured on the UFC’s contender series but ended up losing his fight and was NOT signed to Dana White’s company. After years of mauling his opponents at the Max Fight promotion in his homeland, he took up a new challenge in bare-knuckle boxing when he debuted at BKFC 54. Kolev, however, only won that first fight due to Amer Abdulnabi’s right boxing boot, which was faulty and forced him to retire as he couldn’t walk around the ring.

Markulev might be debuting in the BKFC, but this is far from his first rodeo. He has an acute ability to knock opponents out, having done so seven times in his MMA career. He has also won four fights by submission, leading to an 11-2 overall record. Given his tendency to finish opponents off, he meets the criteria to succeed in the BKFC. Can he get off to a winning start and delight the local boxing news websites with a win against Kolev?

Psycho Meets Assassin in International Welterweight Fight

While BKFC 54 was very Bulgarian fighter-dominated, the co-main event this time has a very international flavor. Vaso Bakočević, known as Psycho to his friends, is a very experienced fighter with many matches on his resume with a 43-24-1 overall MMA record, which exemplifies the wealth of contests he’s battled in. The former Bellator and KSW combatant isn’t just an MMA specialist; he’s fought in kickboxing, regular boxing fights, and many bare-knuckle matches in both boxing and MMA. He’s 3-0 in his bare-knuckle boxing career; however, BKFC does not recognize these fights on his record. Can he win another and make waves in the BKFC welterweight division?

Ramadan Noaman is the man charged with fighting Psycho. He is also making his BKFC debut, but unlike the Serbian, Noaman is a newcomer to bare-knuckle boxing. He had spent years fighting on MMA cards in his native Egypt and some in the Middle East but decided to make more money by fighting in the lucrative BKFC promotion here in Bulgaria. Despite not having as deep a record as his opponent, the Egyptian has been able to control fights defensively, which could lead him to victory, especially against an opponent who has been criticized for being too gung-ho in the past.

Pasche Wants Another First Round KO

Steve Pasche’s first-round win at BKFC 54 was one of the highlights from the card. The Frenchman inflicted so much damage on Mehmet Ozer in 90 seconds that the doctors at ringside had to stop the fight. Pasche and the Sofia crowd expect the same again as he is set to fight at this event. Can he excite bare-knuckle and MMA news websites again with another KO win?

However, his opponent this time is a lot more experienced as he fights Dominik Estorer. The German is a mountain of a man who seldom looks like a cruiserweight, given the amount of muscle on his body. Estorer is traditionally a regular boxing rules guy, having won all three fights, but he jumped at the opportunity to fight with the BKFC.

Alexiev Returns to Halt Losing Streak

Nikolai Alexiev was a hardworking Bulgarian MMA fighter. Unfortunately, his hard work never paid off. Between 2013 and 2017, he fought seven matches and lost all of them. Most of them were terrible losses, too. After a seven-year exile from fight sports (at least in the professional ranks), he is set for bare-knuckle competition. Can he put his losing streak to bed by winning here?

The man trying to extend Alexiev’s misery is the Iranian heavyweight Mehdi Barghi. The man from Tehran was previously a wrestling-style fighter who enjoyed a couple of fights in the ONE Championship. While he is inexperienced at boxing and prefers to control fights with grapples, Barghi has a psychological advantage over a man who has lost his last seven fights.

German Boxers Appear at BKFC 58

The Bulgarian crowd will be treated to the best of Germany’s female boxers as Daniela Graf and Nicole Schaefer fight one another to round out the preliminary fights. Graf has been retired from the fight game since 2015. She returned for a brief kickboxing career but lost all three of her fights in that discipline. Now aged 41, she’s decided to try bare-knuckle boxing. If she starts with a win, she could fight for the flyweight title soon. 

Schaefer is an undefeated boxer with a 3-0-1 and 100% KO record in her victories. Sure, Schaefer has only had three wins, but she left them on the canvas or unable to defend herself each time. If she can do the same to Graf, it will certainly raise her profile in bare-knuckle and conventional boxing circles, depending on which discipline she wants to pursue.

While the beef might be subtle, there have been sly digs at one another on social media, with the phrase ‘real fighter’ being branded around the narrative that Graf thinks Schaefer is more of a trekking influencer than a boxer…could the emotions bubble over here?

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com. 

By Dean McHugh.