Connor Tierney Claims Inaugural BKFC United Kingdom Welterweight Crown

Connor Tierney survived a scare late in the fight Saturday at the Skydome Arena in Coventry, England. It was the kind of scare that all boxers must go through at some point. Even if you feel like you are ahead comfortably on the scorecards, there is always a chance things can go sour quickly.

Tierney was able to build a lead during his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship United Kingdom Welterweight Championship bout by scoring a knockdown in the second round. From there, it appeared Tierney was well on his way to handing previously undefeated Jonny Graham his first career loss.

But online boxing news shows that Graham wasn’t quite ready to cut and run. During the fourth round, Graham landed a punch that sent Tierney down to the mat himself. Tierney had to get his bearings quickly.

When Tierney returned to his feet, he went back to his patient approach. Tierney did enough to convince the judges that knockdown was just a blip on the radar in an otherwise solid performance.

Tierney got his hand raised as the new champion after winning 48-45 on two judges’ scorecards while getting the nod 47-46 in an exciting night to cap the BKFC 64 card. It was a good win for Tierney, who will look to try and track down a global title after upping his record to 8-2. 

Graham, whose record dropped to 2-1, gained valuable experience and may be in the title picture again soon. Overall, it was a strong fight night for the BKFC. In addition to crowning a new champion, many fighters turned in strong performances to grab exposure and generate interest in them fighting again sooner rather than later.

Chipchase Continues Hot Start

Jonno Chipchase continues to string together good results in his home country. Chipchase would like to extend that dominance worldwide as soon as possible. During the co-main event, Chipchase put on another show to extend his perfect start in BKFC to three fights.

The boxing news latest headlines proved that Toby Blindon was no match for Chipchase. During the first round, Blindon nearly spent as much time on his backside as he did his feet. While trying to establish a solid gameplan, Blindon was sent back down to the ground repeatedly by Chipchase, who finished with three knockdowns.

The third time Blindon hit the canvas, the referee determined he took enough punishment. The fight was halted and Chipchase earned another important victory for his pursuit of lightweight gold.

Cooke Forces the Action

Conor Cooke has a lot that he is fighting for. Cooke isn’t the type of guy who isn’t ready to put the work in. When he’s not fighting, like he did when he scored a first-round knockout over Mason Shaw, Cooke is trying to do blue-collar work to support his son.

Keeping Cooke’s motivation focused on something important to him has kept him focused. The Northern Irish cruiserweight barely allowed Shaw to get used to being in the square circle. Instead, Cooke wanted to control the center of the ring and force some action.

Shaw was obliged to trade with Cooke. The fight was stopped at the 1:34 mark of the first round. Cooke’s thunderous strike to end the fight meant only three punches were landed between both men in the entire fight. Shaw fell to 6-6-1 and embarrassingly only landed a solitary strike. If Shaw fights again, he will have a lot of improving to do in order to make an impact.

Boardman Protects Undefeated Ranking

Rob Boardman may have been puzzled about how to solve the riddle. Not so much about how to beat Liverpool’s Lee Brown; Boardman already had two knockdowns before entering the fourth round and seemed to be prepared to win on the scorecards.

However, Boardman didn’t need to belabor the point at all. Boardman landed a few more stiff punches early in the fourth round. Brown didn’t look sure what to do and Boardman continued to press forward.

The punishment was enough that the referee stopped the fight 47 seconds into the fourth round.

Nevin Earns His Stripes

Luke Nevin showed experienced matters. After a tough first few fights in BKFC, Nevin didn’t want to extend his suffering by losing to a debuting fighter. Nevin knocked Sahin Omer down twice.

Omer attempted to change his strategy a few times but couldn’t find any room to operate. The best MMA news sites show that the judges didn’t think this bout was competitive. All three scored it 50-43 for Nevin, who improved to 4-2 in bare-knuckle boxing and halted a two-fight losing skid.

Bygraves Learns the Ropes

Mac Bygraves won’t want his next fight to be so close. But as long as his hand continues to get raised, Bygraves shouldn’t have too many complaints. Bygraves’ first challenge in the BKFC was a fight with Paul O’Sullivan, who was another debuting middleweight.

Both fighters had their moments, but neither separated themselves from one another. I would have hated to be them when the scorecards were read. Ultimately, two judges scored the fight for Bygraves, while one saw it as a 48-47 victory for O’Sullivan.

Thorpe Beats Up Barbaru

George Thorpe’s win was mostly one-way traffic against Conan Barbaru. Thorpe had the only knockdown. Throughout the rest of the fight, Thorpe peppered Barbaru with consistent offense. 

Thorpe’s steady approach allowed him to walk away with a comfortable unanimous decision victory during his middleweight fight.

Here’s a look at the results from the rest of the card not listed above:

• Lightweight, Ryan McCarthy win by decision over Alec Connelly, 50-45 (x2), 50-46
• Bantamweight, Robbie Brown win by decision over Jordan Ward, 50-46, 49-46, 48-47
• Light heavyweight, James Dixon win by TKO over Tom Mowbray, Round 2 :43
• Women’s Bantamweight, Sara Bitto win by unanimous decision over Yamila Sanchez, 49-45 (x2), 50-44
• Middleweight, Simeon Ottley win by TKO over Conner Warden, Round 4 1:45

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By Dean McHugh.