Friday night’s BKFC 85 fight card delivered plenty of thrills and knockouts.
The most exciting fight of the night matched veteran Stephen “Tomahawk” Townsel and Julio Perez. The two cruiserweights gave and took in a back-and-forth battle, with four knockdowns scored in the first round!
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Townsel came forward behind the right jab before landing a hook that felled Perez in the fight’s first 12 seconds.
Perez returned the favour with a left after Townsel got too aggressive.
Townsel got up and continued to pressure. After some back-and-forth, Perez dropped Tomahawk for the second time.
The 10-fight veteran got up with blood dripping on his face’s right side. After the fight resumed, Townsel connected with a right hook, before a right-left combo dropped Perez for the fight’s fourth knockdown.
Townsel took control early in round two and backed Perez to the ropes. He banged the body before unloading with a quick flurry upstairs, Perez’s head snapped back defenselessly as referee Young stepped in to rescue him.
The fight is reminiscent of Townsel’s career-filled with ups and downs.
After winning his bare knuckle debut, Townsel was knocked out in the first round by Jordan Mitchell and Gustavo Trujillo.
He then beat Idrees Wasi and Chris Sarro by mid-round stoppage before back-to-back stoppage defeats, including a loss to combat sports veteran Leo Bercier.
But Tomahawk resurrected his career again. He beat tough Jeremy Smith and Keith Richardson before the all-Florida showdown with the Cuban-born Perez. Townsel hails from Fort Pierce.
The Perez win improved Townsel’s record to 6-4 (6 KOs). He’s never gone the distance in victory or defeat, with every win or loss coming before the final bell.
An emotional Townsel, after thanking God, praised Perez as a “super strong fighter” after the fight.
“I came to handle business. I was a little less poised than I wanted to be but sometimes a fight causes you to bring that monster out,” he told BKFC’s Cyrus Fees before calling out Esteban “Mohawk” Rodriguez.
Mowhawk recently defeated Zach Cavender in another of 2025’s best bare knuckle battles.
Photo Credit: BKFC
