Jared Warren returned to winning ways on May 2, when he faced Joseph Creer at BKFC Fight Night at OCC Road House & Museum in Clearwater, FL. Battling it out in the main event, the former light heavyweight champion claimed the victory by TKO, dominating his opponent with a flurry of punches. The referee stepped in and waved the bare-knuckle boxing fight off at 1:32 into the first round.
With the win, Tampa’s 41-year-old Warren improved to 8-3 and bounced back from a 44-second knockout defeat against Mike Richman last December. 43-year-old Creer of Columbus, GA dropped to 3-3.
“I want my belt back,” Jared Warren said post-fight. “I don’t care who wins next week. I just want my belt back.”
The 185-pound title is on the line on May 10 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Newly crowned champion Mike Richman (7-2) of Saint Paul, Minnesota, makes the first defense of his strap against Josh Dyer (4-1) of Sioux Falls, SD in the main event of BKFC 74.
Ryan Reber defeats Matt Guymon in co-main event
In the BKFC Clearwater co-main event, Ryan Reber (7-1) of Pinellas Park, FL defeated Matt Guymon (2-1, 2 KOs) of Kansas by majority decision at bantamweight, recording a knockdown in the second round along the way. After five rounds, the scores were 47-47, 49-45, and 48-46.
Post-fight, Reber called out current BKFC bantamweight champion Alberto Blas for a rematch. In their first fight, Blas stopped Reber in the opening round of their title fight last September in Hollywood, FL.
In other BKFC Clearwater bouts
Also on the card, John Michael Escoboza (10-2) of Coconut Creek, FL defeated Jay Jackson (5-6) of Tampa, FL by TKO at light heavyweight. The fight was stopped by the doctor before the start of the fourth round. On his way to victory, Escoboza dropped Jackson in the first and third rounds.
The bantamweight bout between Michael Larrimore (3-1) of Clearwater, FL and Samuel Samples (2-2) of Madison County, GA saw five knockdowns in less than a round, with Larrimore dropping his opponent four times, while the latter sent his opponent down once. Larrimore claimed the win via TKO at 1:26 into the first round.
Among other BKFC Clearwater results, Brady Meister (2-1) of Great Falls, MT stopped Joseph White (2-2) of Broward County, FL in the second round at heavyweight. The time of the stoppage was 1:16 into the round. White landed two knockdowns in the first round, while Meister scored a knockdown in the opening round and two in the second.
Nathan Rivera (4-0) of Atlanta, GA bounced back after suffering a knockdown in the second round and dropped Guam’s Alex Castro (0-3) once in the third round and twice in the fourth to earn the victory by KO. The featherweight bout was stopped at 1:00 into the round.
The bantamweight contest between Tampa’s Crystal Pittman (3-3, 1 NC) and newcomer Claudia Zamora (0-0, 1 NC) of Miami was ruled a No Contest. The fight was halted at 1:30 into the second round after Zamora landed a strike on a grounded opponent, and the ringside physician deemed the latter unable to continue.
In the main card opener, Rodney Hinton (1-0) of Hudson, FL dropped fellow newcomer Ben Jacobsen (0-1) of Pittsboro, NC twice en route to victory via first-round TKO. The welterweight bout was stopped at 1:11 into the round.
Among the prelims, Logan Speyrer (2-0, 1 KO) of Lafayette, LA defeated Quentin Gaskins (1-1, 1 KO) of St. Petersburg, FL by unanimous decision at bantamweight. All three scores were 49-46.
Kicking off the action, Anthony Yost (1-2) of Pensacola, FL secured his first win in the BKFC, defeating newcomer Gregorio Gonzalez (0-1), aka Chachi Versaci, of Hudson, FL by unanimous decision. After five rounds at flyweight, the scores were 50-45, 49-46, and 50-45.