Esteban “Mohawk” Rodriguez scored a sensational first-round knockout over Zach Cavender Saturday in an instant classic.
The cruiserweight bout headlined BKFC Fight Night Michigan at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant.
With fans chanting “Mohawk” as the local lad lined up at scratch, Rodriguez launched at Cavender with a right hand.
The two tore into each other with rights and lefts. Cavender went down, six seconds into the match.
Cavender got up with blood on his nose. Rodgriguez was also cut near the right eye.
The fight resumed and Cavender stunned Rodriguez, who quickly regrouped.
Mohawk walked through a left from the southpaw and got inside, pummeling Cavender with vicious shots.
Cavender went down again. Face bloodied, he took out his mouthpiece while referee Andrew Glenn counted him out at the 1:10 mark.
“Oh Baby are you not entertained?,” yelled Rodriguez in the postfight interview with BKFC’s Cyrus Fees.
“We have a new star in BKFC and his name is Esteban Rodriguez,” said BKFC President David Feldman.
Nathan Rivera Defeats Strydom:
In the co-feature, Nathan Rivera (5-0) established himself as a BKFC featherweight title contender with a third-round stoppage over Tommy Strydom.
Rivera used his height and reach advantages against the shorter Strydom, using his jab to set up the right hand.
When Strydom got inside Rivera held to neutralise him.
Rivera knocked Strydom down with a right hand in round two. The tiring Strydom hunched over, hands on knees after the round ended.
Rivera connected with another solid right in round three. Strydom turned away, then went down and touched the left side of his face as the referee counted him out.
Rivera was happy with his showing.
“I’m my own worst critic. Whenever I get in here, I want to be perfect so I’m always gonna be a little hard on myself. But I’m very pleased,” Rivera told Cyrus Fees.
“I’m so grateful for my team. My team has got me here, and I’d be nothing without them and Jesus Christ,” he said.
Rivera praised Strydom for taking the fight and called out unbeaten contender Edgard Plazaola.
Joseph Creer hands Taylor Bull first bare knuckle defeat
In the BKFC Fight Night Michigan featured bout, veteran Joseph Creer (5-3) played the matador, defeating Taylor Bull (4-1) by second-round TKO.
Creer, a southpaw, boxed cautiously in round one as Bull used feints and upper body movement to try and get inside.
Bull started more aggressively in round two, but Creer landed a clean left before knocking Bull down with a series of punches from the clinch.
Creer accidentally hit Bull while he was down. Bull took a few seconds to regroup and the fight restarted.
Creer soon knocked Bull down again with a right. After a Creer left upstairs connected and a couple of body shots, Bull slumped against the ropes, and the fight was stopped by referee Andrew Glenn.
“We really took our time to figure out how to deal with Taylor. He’s like the first guy that’s actually way taller than me,” Creer said.
“It’s my first time in Michigan. My brothers and my sisters and my cousins and my friends, they’re out here,” Creer said about fighting in his home state.
“I’m getting older so I don’t know how many times I’m gonna be able to compete in Michigan but I’m glad my family members are out there,” he said.
BKFC Fight Night Michigan Full Results
All four of the prelims ended before round three, and only two fights went the full five rounds at BKFC Michigan.
David Sanchez improved to 2-0 on the main card, while veteran Erick Lozano snapped a losing streak with a win over Taylor Sijohn.
Mike Hernandez gave an emotional postfight speech after winning his debut.
Wow! Powerful post fight interview from the victorious Mike Hernandez! #BKFCMICHIGAN | Live NOW on BKFC+ pic.twitter.com/gCG1VQVFG8
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) November 2, 2025
Full results below.
Prelims
Lightweight: Parris Boyd (1-0) def. Ruben Arroyo (0-3)-TKO Round 1
Cruiserweight: Aubrey Mendonca (1-0) def. Junior Hicks (0-1)-KO Round 1
Welterweight: Casey Moses (1-1) def. Paul Schiller (0-1)-KO Round 1
Light Heavyweight: Oleg Magkeev (1-0) def. Eric Westbury (0-1)-TKO Round 2
Main Card
Light Heavyweight: David Sanchez (2-0) def. Terryl Johnson (0-1)-TKO Round 2
Featherweight: Mike Hernandez (1-0) def. Antonio Castillo Jr (0-1)-TKO Round 2
Bantamweight: Justin Street (3-2) def. AJ Craig (2-3)-Unanimous Decision
Cruiserweight: Erick Lozano (3-5) def. Taylor Sijohn-Unanimous Decision
Light Heavyweight: Joseph Creer (5-3) def. Taylor Bull-TKO Round 2
Featherweight: Nathan Rivera (5-0) def. Tommy Strydom (4-2)-KO Round 3
Cruiserweight: Esteban Rodriguez (5-0) def. Zach Cavender (2-1)-KO Round 1
Up next for BKFC is BKFC 84: Palm Desert on 15 November in Palm Desert, California. Josh Dyer defends his BKFC Light Heavyweight Title against former champion Lorenzo Hunt.
Photos Courtesy of BKFC
