John Dodson Doesn’t Want His BKFC Title Reign to be a Short One

March 26, 2024
8 months

John Dodson is living his dream as the Bare Knuckle Fight Championship flyweight champion. During Dodson’s MMA career, he put together a solid run and twice got a chance to take on Demetrious Johnson for the UFC’s flyweight belt. But things never worked out quite right for Dodson.

Online boxing news shows that Dodson still fights in MMA for Rizin but decided to give BKFC a try. Dodson captured the promotion’s inaugural flyweight championship when he beat JR Ridge by first-round TKO in August last year. Dodson has knocked out all three of his opponents so far.

Dodson, 39, will have a stiff challenge in his next fight. He will be paired against Dominican boxer Dagoberto Aguero. During his time in traditional professional boxing, Aguero compiled a 15-2 record and finished 10 of those fights by knockouts. Aguero’s power developed once he turned professional.

As an amateur, Aguero ended up going to the scorecards much more. During Augero’s debut with BKFC, he picked up a third-round knockout win over Chancey Wilson.

Bets to consider: Augero by decision

Another Former MMA Fighter Seeks Momentum

Donald Sanchez, 39, doesn’t want to waste any time in the middleweight co-main event. Sanchez, who has over 50 professional MMA fights to his resume, showed during his last fight with Noah Cutter that he has something left in the tank. Just 35 seconds into his bout with Cutter, Sanchez landed a stiff punch that stopped the fight.

It was Sanchez’s first KO win in the promotion. He is now 2-1 during his time in BKFC.

Sanchez will be tasked with trying to beat Great Falls, Montana, native Dallas Davison. Davison’s professional fighting experience has been all focused in bare knuckle boxing. While things started hot for Davison, he would have his first fight in Montana, things have quickly soured.

Davis has lost his two previous fights via KO and will want to bounce back quickly, according to the latest boxing news online.

Bets to consider: Sanchez by KO

Brown Bomber Wants to Avoid MMA Fate

Will “The Brown Bomber” Santiago had a mostly unremarkable career in MMA. He basically traded wins and losses on his way to a 9-7 record. What Santiago hopes is that BKFC can provide him with a path to consistent success.

In three fights with BKFC so far, Santiago has been able to avoid the loss column. However, Santiago has one draw on his record. Santiago relocated from his native Boston to New Mexico to train at Jackson Wink gym. In order to afford the move, Santiago showed his dedication by sleeping in a studio apartment over the gym.

Santiago did get one shot at the big time. MMA breaking news saw that Santiago fought Kevin Holland on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018 and took a decision loss. Holland is still fighting in the UFC and has taken on some of the promotion’s top competition.

Santiago’s opponent, James Dennis, isn’t the type to overwhelm people with volume. Instead, Dennis prefers to look for his opponents before landing power shots to end fights. Before settling in BKFC, Dennis did dabble in MMA. During an amateur fight in Montana, Dennis picked up one of the fastest stoppages in MMA history by finishing a fight in nine seconds.

Dennis is 2-1 so far in BKFC and will want to score big power shots against a veteran fighter.

Bets to consider: Santiago by KO

How Will Kohring’s Power Translate?

Nick Kohring is in a position many of the fighters who come to the BKFC are in. Kohring has experience in combat sports, but his specialty is in a different discipline to bare-knuckle boxing. He has a 13-2 record in MMA and trained with Caesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu as well as the Nick Diaz Academy.

But jiu-jitsu won’t help him much for a boxing match. Kohring attempted to break through to the UFC. He was on season 17 of the Ultimate Fighter. Kohring will have a more experienced opponent during his first light heavyweight bout.

The question is, how valuable was Kyle McElroy’s experience? McElroy found his way to the BKFC after showing up at a tryout session. When BKFC put him in the ring, things mostly went poorly.

McElroy lost his first three fights. During his last attempt, McElroy finally gained some confidence. He ended up knocking out Richard Montano in the second round to pick up his first win. McElory would love to keep that momentum going.

If not, it may be time for McElroy to move on to whatever his life’s work is going to be.

Bets to consider: Kohring by KO

Coca, Warr Prepared to Make BKFC Debuts

Lorenzo Coca has found it easier to find work being based out of New Mexico. During his time in the southwest, Coca has found plenty of opportunities to fight on the regional MMA scene in California and New Mexico. Things had soured for Coca in MMA.

Coca lost five of his previous eight fights and was looking for another chance to climb the ladder somewhere else. Ruben Warr can sympathize with his opponent’s plight. Warr is 12-12 as a professional mixed martial artist and never found a way to achieve consistent success on the MMA regional scene.

Warr tried his hand at kickboxing during his last two fights. He wanted an exhibition kickboxing match and then followed it up with a professional loss to Ryan McIntosh.

Best to consider: Fight to not go the distance

Lester, Richardson to Make Cruiserweight Debut

As BKFC grows and holds more events its roster will expand. Keith Richardson and Frank Lester will square off in a cruiserweight bout to make a strong first impression in the organization. There are plenty of fights on this card that should establish new stats.

Here’s a look at some fights not mentioned above:

  • Featherweight, Marc Entenberg vs. Van Vo
  • Bantamweight, Anthony Sanchez vs. Justin Street
  • Heavyweight, Manuel Otero vs. Mike Furnier
  • Flyweight, Austin Lewis vs. Joshua Richey
  • Welterweight, Felipe Chavez vs. Leandro Torres

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

By Dean McHugh.

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