Connor Tierney won the inaugural Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) United Kingdom Welterweight Championship with a hard-fought decision over Jonny Graham in the Main Event of BKFC 64 on Saturday at the sold-out Skydome Arena in Coventry, England.
Two judges scored the back-and-forth, 165-pound showdown 48-45 for Tierney, while the third judge had it 48-46 for the unanimous winner. Both fighters registered a knockdown in the action-packed title fight. Tierney sent Graham to the canvas in the second round, and Graham floored Tierney in the fourth frame.
Tierney, who hails from Birmingham, England, improved to 8-2 in his bare knuckle career with the victory, while the previously undefeated Leeds, England fighter Graham fell to 2-1.
Unbeaten Manchester, England product Jonno Chipchase proved once again that he’s one of the United Kingdom’s top lightweight contenders as he took out Toby Blindon of Torquay, England in the first round of the BKFC 64 Co-Main Event. Chipchase scored three knockdowns and upped his record to 3-0 with the win, while Blindon fell to 2-3. The fight was stopped with just two seconds remaining in the opening round.
The action-packed event, like all BKFC events, aired LIVE globally on The BKFC App.
Complete results below.
In the BKFC 64 Feature Fight, Antrim, Northern Ireland cruiserweight Conor Cooke climbed to 4-1 in his bare knuckle career with a first-round knockout over Mason Shaw of Bridgewater, England. Time of the stoppage was 1:34 in the opening frame. Shaw is now 6-6-1.
Undefeated Weston-super-Mare, England cruiserweight Rob Boardman improved his spotless bare knuckle record to 6-0 with a fourth-round TKO over Liverpool’s Lee Browne. Boardman dropped Browne twice in the contest before the fight was stopped 47 seconds into the fourth stanza.
Newcastle, England’s Luke Nevin scored two knockdowns in his one-sided, unanimous decision victory over the debuting Sahin Omer of Basildon, England. All three judges had the welterweight match 50-43 in favor of Nevin, who improved to 4-2 in his bare knuckle career with the victory.
Ramsgate, England’s Mac Bygraves earned the split-decision victory over Paul O’Sullivan of Burton upon Trent in their battle of debuting middleweights. Two judges scored the fight for Bygraves (50-47, 50-46), while O’Sullivan won in the eyes of one judge (48-47).
Birmingham’s George Thorpe smashed his way to 2-0 under the BKFC banner with a unanimous decision at the expense of Conan Barbaru of Transylvania, Romania in their middleweight showdown. Thorpe scored the only knockdown of the night, which paved the way to all three judges scoring the bout in his favor (49-45x2, 50-45). Barbaru falls to 0-2 with the loss.
Ryan McCarthy, who represents Newport, Wales, scored a unanimous decision victory in his first trip to the Squared Circle over fellow debuting fighter Alec Connelly of Chichester, England in the lightweight division. Two judges agreed on 50-45, while one scored it 50-46, all for McCarthy.
Robbie Brown of Hartlepool, England upped his BKFC record to 2-2 with a hard-fought unanimous decision over debuting Birmingham fighter Jordan Ward in the bantamweight division. The judges scored it 50-46, 49-46, 48-47, all in favor of Brown.
Hometown fighter James Dixon sent opponent Tom Mowbray of Chesterfield, England to the canvas four times en route to the second-round TKO victory in their light-heavyweight matchup. Both fighters were competing under the BKFC banner for the first time.
Milan, Italy’s Sara Bitto defeated Yamila Sanchez of Malaga, Spain via unanimous decision in women’s bantamweight action. Two judges scored it 49-45, while one had it 50-44, all in favor of the Italian. Both fighters were making their debut for BKFC.
Leeds’ Simeon Ottley was victorious over Conner Warden of Coventry in their battle of debuting English middleweights. Ottley finished Warden in the fourth round after scoring the first knockdown of the bout. Time of the TKO was 1:45.
BKFC 64 Results
Connor Tierney def. Jonny Graham via Unanimous Decision (48-45x2, 48-46)
For Inaugural BKFC UK Welterweight Title
Jonno Chipchase def. Toby Blindon via TKO in Round 1 (1:58)
Conor Cooke def. Mason Shaw via KO in Round 1 (1:34)
Rob Boardman def. Lee Browne via TKO in Round 4 (0:47)
Luke Nevin def. Sahin Omer via Unanimous Decision (50-43x3)
Mac Bygraves def. Paul O’Sullivan via Split Decision (50-47, 50-46, 47-48)
George Thorpe def. Conan Barbaru via Unanimous Decision (49-45x2, 50-45)
Ryan McCarthy def. Alec Connelly via Unanimous Decision (50-45x2, 50-46)
Robbie Brown def. Jordan Ward via Unanimous Decision (50-46, 49-46, 48-47)
James Dixon def. Tom Mowbray via TKO in Round 2 (0:43)
Sara Bitto def. Yamila Sanchez via Unanimous Decision (49-45x2, 50-44)
Simeon Ottley def. Conner Warden via TKO in Round 4 (1:45)
