For the second year in a row, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship's premier event, Knucklemania VI, took over Philadelphia and delivered on what founder David Feldman expected to be the largest combat sporting event in the history of the city, with over 18,000 fans in attendance.
"That's Philadelphia, it's just different," said Feldman on the atmosphere the hometown fans brought to Xfinity Mobile Arena. "If they love you, they're going to love you. And if they love you, they're going to hate you. That's just the way it is here."
A main card featuring 10 fights served up a little bit of everything. Here is a recap of BKFC Knucklemania VI:
The first match on the card was a rematch of last year's Knucklemania V, where Brandon "Beastmode" Meyer earned a victory via second-round knockout over the hometown "King" Zedekiah Montanez. Fast forward one year and the Philly kid exacted his revenge in emphatic fashion.
Meyer was the aggressor early, rushing Montanez and landing a few early lefts in the opening seconds. After Montanez found his distance, both fighters became hesitant to overshoot and play into their opponent's hands. As the first wound down, Montanez scored the first knockdown of the evening, but Meyer got back up and was ready for the second.
Knowing he lost the first, Meyer again came out fast and furious to begin the second round. Both fighters would lock into a clinch and unload body shots on each other in a moment that got a good reaction from the crowd.
Meyer would try an overhand shot that missed badly, allowing Montanez to capitalize and eventually push Meyer against the ropes to unload on him, scoring another knockdown. To Meyer's credit, he got back up and kept fighting, even landing one of his swooping overhands, though it did not seem to affect Montanez.
In the final moments of the second round, Montanez regained his advantage, pushing Meyer back up against the ropes and putting him down one final time with an uppercut that ended the fight with just one second to spare in the round, much to the delight of his hometown audience.
Not much action to speak of to begin this bout, with both fighters feeling each other out for much of the round. The first significant strike landed halfway through the round, which allowed West Chester, PA's Cody "Chaos" Russell to rush at Harrison “The Headhunter” Aiken, but that ultimately led nowhere.
It only took one strike to change the tenor of the fight. Russell knocked Aiken down to end the first round, and that was all the momentum he needed.
Round two started a lot quicker than the first because Russell smelled blood and did not want to let up. He rushed Aiken back to the ropes and staggered him with a stiff shot that led to a referee corner check.
Aiken kept fighting, but one final knockdown had him struggling to stand upright, and the referee called it off. Russell was given one of the two KO of the Night awards.
Philly's own, "The Irishman" Pat Sullivan, only knows one way to fight: like a bull in a china shop. Unfortunately for Sullivan, lightning would strike twice as he would lose in a very similar fashion to his loss last year at Knucklemania V, ending the local win streak to start the main card at two.
Sullivan had the notable size advantage, and he tried to close the space early on and be the one determining the distance. He rushed in frantically and was met with a hook shot to the nose that put him down.
From there, he would settle in a bit and fight with a bit more control than he showed last year, but his bad habits would end up getting the best of him in the end. Sullivan's lack of technique was evident when Bennett was trying anything he could to get to his punching range, even resorting to lunging at Sullivan in order to land strikes, and Sullivan still could not gain the leg-up.
Sullivan ended the first round with his first and only good combination of the fight, though Bennett did not seem phased at all. When round two began, Sullivan was hellbent on evening the score, even staggering Bennett once, though he could not build upon that.
Bennett catered to the crowd a bit, dropping his hands and inviting Sullivan to come in close- it turned out to be a good strategy. When Sullivan closed the distance once more, Bennett put him down again into the ropes. He tried to get back up, but the referee had seen enough, and he called off the fight before round three could get underway.
A very entertaining first round saw a lot of action without many results. Both fighters started throwing and missing their early punches before Mike "The Marine" Richman landed the first hard shot of the contest that backed Joe "Hitman" Elmore up.
Elmore would show off some timely dodging while spending most of the fight on the defensive. He landed a little fury of punches of his own before Richman stopped his momentum with another hard shot when Elmore closed the distance.
Richman was doing his best work on counters. Elmore got a little wild in his approach, and Richman stayed back ready to pounce on any window he saw. The pace both guys were going at clearly began to play a factor as Elmore began to lose some of the pepper on his punches.
The second round ended with Richman putting Elmore down with a devastating body shot that looked initially like it would be the deciding blow. Instead, Elmore proved his toughness and got back up before the ref could finish his count, and the fight went on.
The first fight on the main card to reach a third round, Elmore would finally settle into the fight. He closed the distance and landed a solid uppercut from clinch position that made Richman back up. He would land a few more times in the round, even staggering Richman for the first time. Richman would get himself back on track with another well-timed body shot that visibly bothered Elmore after the strike he took to end the previous round.
Richman would maintain the upper hand throughout the rest of the fight. Elmore tried to rush Richman at the start of the fourth, landing a combination of punches. But Richman would deliver a left hook that once again made Elmore step back to regather himself.
Some controversy broke out when Richman poked Elmore in the eye. The on-site doctor had to be called to the ring apron to check on Elmore, who was eventually cleared to continue.
Come the fifth and final round, Richman deployed a conservative and methodical approach, knowing he probably had the fight won as long as he did not go down. When the ten-second clap rang down, both men stood their ground and threw haymakers to the final bell.
Elmore did enough to impress one judge, who scored the fight a 47-47 tie. The other two cards went in favor of Richman, who won via majority decision. Elmore guaranteed they would deliver the Fight of the Night at Thursday's press conference, and while they were not awarded that honor, they put on a great show.
Jade Masson-Wong, already owning one victory over Crystal "The Rugged Beauty" Pittman, clearly had the mental advantage heading into the fight. Whether Pittman was afraid of Masssong-Wong's power or she was just worried about suffering another defeat to her, she refused to allow Masson-Wong to enter into her airspace and tee off. Instead, Pittman would clinch up every time Masson-Wong made any bit of headway.
Rounds two and three were no different. Masson-Wong wanted to fight one way, and Pittman was not having it. It became clear that this fight was never going to be contested at a fair distance, so Wong resorted to dealing as much damage as she could in the confined space.
Before round four began, the corner had to check on Pittman's swollen eye, but she was cleared to continue. Boos started to trickle down from the stands after more of the same. Not a lot of juice and excitement to this one. The referee saw as much action breaking up all the clinches as the fighters did, actually throwing punches. Masson-Wong would win the rematch via unanimous decision.
Patrick "The Brick" Brady knows how to get his hometown crowd on their feet. For one, he has thunder in his fists. Secondly, he had Shane Gillis walk down the ramp with him.
Standing across from him was Bear "The Last Barbarian" Hill, who also has lead in his hands and showed a lot of resiliency throughout the fight. Both fighters came in with the idea of putting on a show for the fans and leaving everything they had in the middle of the ring.
A back-and-forth battle in the first saw both men land some significant shots that stunned their opponent. As the first round came to an end, a deafening chant for Brady permeated through the building.
Brady would gain the upper hand beginning in the second round. After overshooting and allowing Hill to land a few punches of his own, Brady landed a left that backed Hill up. Brady would record his first knockdown at the end of the round.
There was a moment in the third round where Hill almost got himself back into the fight. He stymied Brady with a brutal shot, but Brady recovered quickly and knocked Hill down again. Before the round closed, Brady put a tiring Hill down one more time.
Bear Hill has to be given credit for both his will and his chin- he simply would not die. He forced Brady to clinch up in the fourth round after landing a few shots. Brady would refocus and put Hill on the mat for the fourth time, but the referee refused to call the fight.
The fifth round was a formality, but Bear Hill earned a lot of respect from the Philadelphia crowd. Patrick Brady won via unanimous decision, and David Feldman entered the ring to announce he would be doubling both fighters’ purses. Feldman also later announced that this fight was awarded Fight of the Night honors.
Patrick Brady took the microphone in the ring following the fight and said he would be donating his entire paycheck- now worth twice as much- to charity. He then aptly retired in front of his hometown to a standing ovation, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, with his 42nd birthday coming up next week.
In the third rematch of the night, Ben "The Bomber" Bonner looked to capitalize on last year's victory of Tony "Loco" Soto and notch another win in what was a Lightweight Championship eliminator match. It may not have played out how he envisioned, but with the victory, he will next challenge for the division's vacant title.
Soto perfectly toed the line between looking busy and doing nothing in the first round. He was bouncy on his feet and flashed some feints, but any time Bonner got close, Soto would shield up to protect himself. Soto was ultra-defensive of his face and did not let Bonner catch him early as he did in their first fight.
Bonner stayed aggressive as the fight went on. He refused to let Soto catch his breath, consistently pushing the action and staying engaged. Bonner rushed Soto off a miss to log the first combination of the fight.
A lot of time spent in the clinch in round three ended when Soto finally landed a flurry of punches on Bonner that forced him to hold again. From there, Bonner was more respectful of Soto's punches and did not push the issue like he was in the opening rounds.
Both fighters were growing tired come the fourth round. They would exchange some lackluster punches before a smattering of boos started ringing down from the crowd. The smattering turned into a full chorus when the fifth round proved to be more of the same, and a fight that started with a lot of promise turned rather uneventful.
First, it was flying cannolis. Next, it was flying fists. All in all, another winning weekend for Johnny "Cannoli" Garbarino. In an interview before the main card began, he predicted a first-round knockout, and while he may not have called his shot, he has to be satisfied with his start-to-finish dominant effort as the biggest betting favorite of the night.
Both fighters needed the first to feel each other out. Garbarino closed on Tomlinson's space early on, causing Tomlinson to slip twice in the first round, though neither was recorded as a knockdown.
Round two is where Johnny Cannoli turned on the gas and did not look back. He would find his shooting pocket and begin recording knockdowns at will. Tomlinson did not have much to retaliate with once Garbarino found his stride, and though it took longer than he would have liked, he eventually got the job done.
From the second round to the stoppage in the fifth, Tomlinson Jr found himself on the mat no less than 10 times. Garbarino dealt a lot of damage, but Tomlinson ducked and turtled too often, trying to ensure he did not get finished.
"I think I learned a little about how people can take advantage of the sitting rule," Garbarino said about Tomlinson dropping to the mat multiple times to avoid his onslaught. "Every time I tried to put combinations together, he took advantage of it and took a knee and covered up."
Garbarino was dealing heavy damage in the midst of Tomlinson’s cowardice, but the referee let him keep getting up and going after it. Tomlinson deserves credit for his overall toughness, which Garbarino acknowledged during his in-ring interview.
Finally, after some signature head-bobbing defense and another knockdown halfway through the final round, the fight was waived off and the card's most popular fighter earned himself the victory.
"I really wouldn't change a thing tonight because I had a big learning experience," Garbarino said about how the fight played out. "I got to the fifth round, so it's extra ring time, IQ. I'm glad it all worked out the way it did."
Current champions in different divisions, Dave "The Redneck" Mundell and Lorenzo "The Juggernaut" Hunt, treated fans to the rare champion-vs-champion match with neither belt on the line. In what was also a battle to prove who the pound-for-pound best fighter is in BKFC, Hunt emerged victorious in what promotion founder David Feldman said was the fight he was most looking forward to coming into the event.
"I feel amazing. I am exactly what I say I am. I don't mince words, I don't lie, I give it to you raw and real," said Hunt about how it feels to officially be named the top pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion. "I have never pretended. This has always been me, that's why it's so easy."
Both fighters treated each other with the respect they deserved, given their top pound-for-pound rankings. The respect led to hesitancy for the opening minute, and it took some animosity from the fans to push Hunt on the offensive, and oddly enough, the same thing would happen in the second round.
Hunt went on the attack when the boo-birds became louder in round two. He would finally land the big shot and knock down Mundell to close out the round. In the third, the first real punching exchanges occurred from the clinch. When separated, Hunt landed a combination for the first time.
Mundell could only find his offense from the clinch, and Hunt realized he could end this fight with the appropriate distance on the feet. Hunt landed one of the stiffest straights of the entire night to put Mundell down for good and assume the top pound-for-pound spot in the BKFC. David Feldman gave Hunt the KO of the Night Award.
"I got some good news today, I am going to be a grandfather," said Hunt at the post-fight press conference. After a round of applause, Feldman took the microphone back and jokingly proclaimed that BKFC cannot have a grandfather as a champion.
"Big" Ben Rothwell defended his BKFC Heavyweight Championship that he won at last year's Knucklemania V against a man he is very familiar with, Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski. Dating back over 17 years, Arlovski already holds two professional wins over Rothwell in MMA. Unfortunately for Rothwell, history would repeat itself for a third time in bare-knuckle.
"We fought in MMA, but it was a lot of striking and stand-up the whole time. He never took me down, I never took him down," Arlovski said about how this fight was not too different from his previous two encounters with Rothwell.
Neither man was afraid to throw punches early and see if they could end the other's night prematurely. Rothwell won the title last year by blitzing his opponent, Mick Terill, and knocking him out in just 36 seconds.
Arlovski knocked Rothwell back, and Rothwell returned the favor with a stiff shot of his own. Another heavy hit from Arlovski gave him the advantage entering round two.
Arlovski would keep on the attack, smelling the championship victory in just his second fight in BKFC. He rushed Rothwell and landed multiple hard shots, which, to Rothwell's credit, he continued to eat with blood streaming down his face.
Doctors had to check on Rothwell entering round three, but allowed him to fight. Another huge blow from Arlovski forced the referee to call a timeout and reassess Rothwell. When it was clear he could no longer continue, the on-site doctor called the fight off, and Andre Arlovski earned another win over Ben Rothwell to become the new BKFC Heavyweight Champion.
"I have a great (expletive) boxing coach. Sometimes when I'm mad or upset, he keeps pushing me. I'm very disciplined, and hopefully today I stuck with the game plan."
