Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship returned to the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California Saturday.
Freak Injury KOs Prince-Gutierrez
A freak injury brought a quick end to the flyweight opener.
Justyn Martinez ducked an Alex Prince-Gutierrez jab and picked him up.
Prince-Gutierrez injured his back and couldn’t continue, making Martinez a first-round TKO winner.
KO of the year nominee? #BKFCPECHANGA pic.twitter.com/kcHZwJiPMd
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) January 19, 2025
It’s Martinez’s first win after 4 losses and a no contest. Gutierrez is now 1-1.
Jeremy Sauceda def. Luis Villasenor-KO Round 1
The second bout was between light heavyweights Jeremy Sauceda and Luis Villasenor.
Villasenor started aggressively, and ran into a left hook for an early knockdown.
Sauceda remained cool. He landed a couple more good shots before finishing Villasenor with a left.
Villasenor went down and couldn’t beat the count-tapping his leg and telling the ref he was injured.
Sauceda improves to 2-2 with the win-the victory ended a 2-fight losing streak. Villasenor is now 1-2.
Iman Williams def. Gabriel Mota-KO Round 1: Avila Wins Crowd Pleaser
Iman Williams impressed in his Bare Knuckle FC debut.
The native Southern Californian showed skill, power and defence in stopping Gabriel Mota (1-3) in round one.
A Williams jab cut Mota on the nose early. Williams mixed his shots to body and head nicely, before finishing Mota with another jab.
DEBUT DUBYA FOR @realkinjawre 👏#BKFCPECHANGA pic.twitter.com/bbi0pz2kxy
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) January 19, 2025
Williams, 31, comes from a boxing pedigree. His father and coach is Jeremy Williams, a former US national amateur boxing champion who challenged for the WBO Heavyweight Title. Jeremy Williams was trained by his father. The family legacy continues.
The next bout, also heavyweights, had the crowd roaring. Caleb Avila beat Taylor Sijohn by 3rd round TKO. Sijohn went down five times total, but landed a few good shots of his own and never quit.
Bear Knuckles? 🐼 Caleb Avila just threw down! #BKFCPECHANGA | Live NOW on BKFC App pic.twitter.com/5lCEi5OCOO
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) January 19, 2025
Mike Andaya def. Dan Godoy-TKO Round 2
In a lightweight match up, Mike Andaya (1-0) used jab and distance effectively in stopping Dan Godoy (0-3) in round two.
Anadaya’s left lead reddened Godoy’s face in round one.
In the second, a jab to the eye area forced Godoy to take a knee. He signaled with his hand to the referee he was done, giving Andaya his first Bare Knuckle FC victory.
A perfectly placed jab gets the job done 🙌#BKFCPECHANGA | Live NOW on BKFC App pic.twitter.com/nEX8jkBGkM
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) January 19, 2025
Thomas and Petersen Win Decisions
The next two bouts went the distance. Rodney Thomas (1-2) won a five-round unanimous decision over Art Driscoll (0-3).
Welterweight prospect Ryan Petersen (2-0) outpointed Matt Socholotiuk (2-1), also by unanimous decision.
Robbie Peralta def. Jordan Christensen-Unanimous Decision
Robbie Peralta’s last BKFC outing didn’t go to plan. The local fighter, a former UFC competitor, was shockingly knocked out in just 6 seconds by Ruben Warr.
Peralta returned to the win column Saturday, outpointing Jordan Christensen (3-6) over five rounds. Judges’ scores were 50-45 (twice) and 49-46.
Peralta improves his BKFC record to 4-2 with the win, ending a two-fight losing streak. Before the Warr loss, unbeaten phenom Bryce Henry had stopped Peralta in February 2024.
Evgenii Kurdanov Defeats Elvin Brito
In the main event, Russia’s Evgenii “The Sailor” Kurdanov scored his first BKFC win. The Top Dog FC veteran scored a five-round unanimous decision over former welterweight champion Elvin Brito.
It was a technical battle, with the Russian southpaw showing nice footwork and upper body movement. Kurdanov looked to time Brito coming in, and he was more effective as the bout went on.
Some fans didn’t appreciate the technical skill displayed by the fighters, booing and whistling the lack of toe-to-toe action.
It was an impressive performance by Kurdanov, who previously lost on by injury to Julian Lane and on points to Gorjan Slaveski.
“It’s long time to me. Thank you God, thank you my family,” Kurdanov said after the fight.
“I think this is a great start in my career in United States. It’s a big promotion of the world in bare knuckle. Number one combat sport.”
Two judges gave Kurdanov every round, with the other official scoring the bout 49-46.
Evgenii Kurdanov Defeats the former champion Elvin Brito in our Main Event!
Presented by @BuckedUp pic.twitter.com/CUfpixKMO9
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) January 19, 2025
