Christine Ferea Ready for Next Challenger to Her Unofficial Crown as the Queen of the BKFC

September 4, 2024

2 days

Christine Ferea has provided the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship with a reliable face for their women’s divisions. Ferea has taken on all comers and has been writing her name in the record book in a way that will be difficult for young fighters to reach. But there also comes a time when that reign will end.

Ferea is tied with strawweight champion Taylor Starling for the most women’s title defenses in BKFC history with three. A win at BKFC 65 would allow her to move past her old rival. The next challenger seeking to knock Ferea down a peg is Jade Masson-Wong.

Masson-Wong is 3-1 in the BKFC. She owns a win over Starling and has won consecutive fights since her defeat against Christine Vicens in February 2022. Masson-Wong, though, is up against a stout opponent.

Online boxing news shows that Ferea has a promotion record of six wins by stoppage. While Masson-Wong has demonstrated she can box, winning the fight will require a different level of dedication. This will be a fun main event and a good opportunity for the women’s division to get its shine.

Expect Ferea to maintain her spot at the top of the perch.

Bets to consider: Over 4.5 rounds, Ferea by decision

Jeremy Stephens Wants to Steal a Ranking

Jeremy Stephens has fought professionally since 2005 and competed more than 30 times in the UFC. But by the time he reached the PFL in 2022, it was clear that Stephens was running out of answers. Stephens only produced one win during his final nine fights, according to MMAfighting latest news.

Seeing Stephens make the hop over to the BKFC was a bit of a surprise. Many assumed Stephens had left MMA because he didn’t have the chin for it anymore. But Stephens showed when he debuted against fellow former UFC veteran Jimmie Rivera in December 2023 that he had plenty left in the tank.

Stephens knocked out Rivera and will hope to do the same to the No. 5 lightweight fighter Bobby Taylor. Taylor is more experienced in the squared circle, compiling a 6-2 record with the promotion.

Bets to consider: Taylor ML

Undefeated Fighters Ready for Featured Fight

Trever Bradshaw and Drako Rodriguez don’t have a lot of bare-knuckle experience going into their featured fight on Saturday night. But Bradshaw and Rodriguez both debuted with impressive wins and would like to continue the good vibes going. Bradshaw came to bare-knuckle after a 15-fight run in MMA.

Rodriguez also tried his hand at MMA and was moderately successful. But Rodriguez has been much better when it comes to boxing. When looking at boxing news sites, it is easy to see that Rodriguez has a 6-1 record in traditional boxing.

Rodriguez also found success in his BKFC debut when he scored a third-round knockout. This should be a fun matchup between two professional fighters. With Rodriguez’s in-ring experience, it is hard not to make him a slight favorite.

Bets to consider: Rodriguez by KO/TKO/DQ, Under 4.5 rounds

Jones, Romo Seek a Lifeline

While the BKFC is a young promotion and hasn’t punished fighters who lose early in their careers, you never want to make losing an acceptable habit. Mike Jones and Diego Romo both failed to win their debut fight.

Jones, a 34-year-old heavyweight, is coming back after taking nine months off following a loss to Erick Lozano last December. But Jones will need to adapt his MMA skills into a successful boxing style. Jones is most notable for winning the Fierce Fighting Championship middleweight belt in 2023.

Romo opened his BKFC career with a draw against Ravon Baxter, but can anyone really be happy with that result? Romo also came up through the MMA scene before deciding to pivot to another discipline of fighting. Romo likes to put the pressure on, and that should mean some wild stuff at heavyweight.

Bets to consider: Under 2.5 rounds, Romo by KO/TKO/DQ

Explosive Heavyweights Ready for Starring Role

Hayden Brown has a background unique to many American heavyweights. Instead of coming up with boxing or wrestling, Brown built his striking foundation by training in Muay Thai. When Brown reached the professional MMA circuit, his capacity to strike as a heavyweight produced wild results.

All three of Brown’s MMA fights ended due to knockout, while he won two of those fights. Brown will be fighting Alex Davis, who has only one professional fight under his belt. While Brown has a loss under his belt, he should be better equipped to handle the spotlight here. Regardless, don’t expect this fight to go much further past the first round.

Bets to consider: Under 1.5 rounds, Brown by KO/TKO/DQ

Rumsey Seeks to Hold Things Together

Lewis Rumsey is a resilient fighter. How much that ability to handle adversity helps the heavyweight in his professional career will be called into question with another loss. Rumsey has already lost three straight fights and is 1-4 in his BKFC career.

Rumsey’s struggles in the BKFC are surprising, given his considerable experience. He came up with a Muay Thai training program and took 28 professional MMA fights during a seven-year window between 2010 and 2017.

Rumsey is also a good grappler, but that won’t help in his boxing match against Jeremy Morrison this weekend. Morrison lost his debut fight in May and is eager to get into the win column. Morrison is a colorful personality and even holds a doctorate degree.

Bets to consider: Morris by KO/TKO/DQ, Under 1.5 rounds

Here are some other fights on the card not mentioned above: