The official BKFC Knucklemania VI weigh-in took place on Friday night from Stateside Live! in South Philadelphia ahead of Saturday night's grand event. Founder David Feldman said he expects this year's event to top last year's as the largest combat sporting event in the city's history.
The weigh-in provides the final opportunity to build drama and intrigue, and Feldman's group of fighters hit on all the right notes to make sure Knucklemania VI meets and exceeds his lofty expectations.
Johnny "Cannoli" Garbarino is on a ricotta and chocolate chip warpath. Sporting his new moniker for BKFC's grand stage, Garbarino doubled down. He took to the stage at the press conference on Thursday night, winding up and pitching a cannoli straight into his opponent, Kaine Tomlinson Jr.
Then on Friday, with his face painted like the Italian flag, he emerged with a cannoli so large it looked like it was a prop from afar. He emerged to the loudest ovation of the night after Tomlinson came out to a chorus of boos, and curiously wore a Saquon Barkley Eagles jersey after trashing Philadelphia every chance he has had.
Following an intense forehead-to-forehead faceoff with Tomlinson, Garbarino grabbed the giant cannoli off the ground and hurled it at him.
"My cousin made it, he owns a bakery so I called him and he actually delivered it special for me," Garbarino said with a slight chuckle following the weigh-in about where he was able to find a cannoli that big. Johnny Cannoli's star is rising. Time for him to prove it again in the ring come Knucklemania VI.
"Felony" Charles Bennett and Pat Sullivan have been exchanging childlike fun banter with each other all week leading up to their fight. At Thursday's press conference, Bennett made fun of Pat Sullivan's "The Irishman" nickname, which Sullivan enjoyed. Sullivan fired back saying he was going to punch Bennett's teeth in on Saturday, to which Bennett retorted that in 25 years of fighting, nobody has taken a tooth from him yet.
Fast forward to the weigh-in, and Bennett danced all over the stage before actually taking to the scale. When Sullivan stepped on the scale, Bennett got right up on his side and started jawing at him.
When they faced off, Sullivan made fun of Bennett's shorter stature. Then Bennett stepped in front of Sullivan for the final pictures, then Sullivan stepped back in front of Bennett, and Bennett posed from behind.
Entertaining stuff. Real fights need some gimmick and comedy too.
Patrick "The Brick" Brady and Bear "The Last Barbarian" Hill- true to his name with two light blue paint streaks beaming down his head like a Viking and a beard that would make ZZ Top jealous- showed the most mutual respect for one another ahead of their impending battle. A fist bump and a good moment for the cameras set up what should be a heavy-hitting affair.
"Patrick Brady is a great opponent. He's undefeated, like I am. He probably has the fastest hands in the heavyweight division," Hill told Philly Sports Network about the respect he has for Brady. "I think I am going to get the win in later rounds. You don't want to miss a show, because when Patrick and I get in the ring it's going to be an absolute war."
Joe Elmore has nothing but admiration for his opponent, Mike "The Marine" Richman, a former Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps who served three tours of duty in Iraq. While Elmore is confident in his abilities, he took the time after the weigh-in to speak with Philly Sports Network about Richman.
"Mike Richman is a two-time champion. I can't not respect him. First off, he volunteered to do multiple tours for our country. He is a man amongst men. I love Mike. It's unfortunate we have to fight because we respect each other, but fortunate for the fans that love war, and we're two guys that are going to come in there and go to war."
