Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) made its 2025 premiere with an action-packed night of excitement at BKFC Fight Night Pechanga on Saturday at the sold-out Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, CA, LIVE worldwide on The BKFC App.
The fireworks-filled event serves as an appetizer for the biggest event in bare knuckle fighting history, KnuckleMania V, which takes place Jan. 25 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, LIVE globally on DAZN.
In the BKFC Fight Night Pechanga Main Event, Evgeny "The Sailor" Kurdanov earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over former BKFC World Welterweight Champion Elvin "El Bandido" Brito. Two judges scored every round for the Russian-born Los Angeles fighter (50-45), and one judge had it 49-46. He is now 5-2 in his bare knuckle fighting career. Brito, who hails from Maunabo, Puerto Rico, is now 6-6 under the BKFC banner. Brito entered fight night as the No. 5 contender in the BKFC welterweight division.
“This has been a long time coming. Thank you, everyone,” a gracious Kurdanov told the jam-packed Pechanga Resort Casino. “This is a great moment in my career. Bare knuckle fighting is the No. 1 combat sport in the world.”
In the BKFC Fight Night Pechanga Co-Main Event, Escondido, CA’s Robbie "Problems" Peralta upped his BKFC record to 4-2 with a highly entertaining unanimous decision over JorDan "Hayes Haymaker" Christensen. Two judges scored the lightweight matchup 50-45 and one had it 49-46, all in favor of Peralta. Christensen, who represents Las Vegas, is now 3-6 in his BKFC career.
“It feels great to be back in the win column in my hometown. I’ve got my family here, everybody behind me, and I couldn’t be happier to make them proud and put on a show,” the UFC veteran Peralta told the sold-out Temecula crowd.
In the BKFC Fight Night Pechanga Feature Fight, Humboldt County, CA welterweight Ryan “Ryu” Petersen improved to 3-0 in his bare knuckle fighting career with a hard-fought, action-packed unanimous decision over Matt “The Hawk” Socholotiuk. Two judges scored the bout 49-46, while one had it 50-45, all in favor of Petersen. The Montreal-based Canadian Socholotiuk falls to 2-1 with the loss.
Glendora, CA welterweight Rodney Thomas logged a pair of knockdowns over Art "The Berzerker" Driscoll en route to bringing home his first BKFC victory. Two judges scored the bout 49-44 and one had it 48-45, all in favor of Thomas, who improved to 1-2 in victory. Driscoll, who hails from Hudson, FL, is now 0-3 under the BKFC banner.
Escondido, CA’s Mike Andaya made an impressive first impression, winning by TKO in his BKFC debut at the expense of Dan “Maxbet” Godoy in the lightweight division. The stoppage came 45 seconds into the second round. Godoy, who represents New Port Richey, FL, is now 0-3 in the Squared Circle.
Valley Center, CA’s Caleb "Panda" Avila earned his first BKFC victory with a five-knockdown performance over Tyler "Red Bird" Sijohn in their action-packed heavyweight matchup. Time of the TKO was 1:25 in the third round. Avila is now 1-1 with BKFC. Sijohn, who represents The Coeur d'Alene Tribe in Idaho, is now 0-2 in his BKFC career.
Los Angeles heavyweight newcomer Iman "Monstero" Williams turned heads in his BKFC debut with a first-round KO at the expense of Gabriel “Manos De Piedra” Mota. Time of the stoppage was 1:54 in the opening frame. Mota, who represents Hammond, IN, is now 1-3 under the BKFC banner.
Odessa, TX’s Jeremy "The Warrior" Sauceda smashed his way back into the win column with a 38-second TKO over Luis "El Jefe" Villasenor in middleweight action. Sauceda sent Villasenor to the canvas twice. A leg injury appeared to prevent the San Diego, CA-based Villasenor from being able to continue. Sauceda is now 2-2, while Villasenor’s BKFC record dropped to 1-2.
In the first BKFC bout of 2025, Wichita, KS’s Justyn Martinez earned his long-awaited first BKFC victory with a 65-second TKO over Alex “Prince” Gutierrez in their flyweight matchup. The ringside doctor called a stop to the bout after an apparent back injury rendered Gutierrez unable to continue. Martinez is now 1-5, 1 NC under the BKFC banner. Gutierrez, who hails from Temecula, sees his record fall to 1-1 with the loss.
BKFC Fight Night Pechanga Results
Evgeny Kurdanov def. Elvin Brito via Unanimous Decision (50-45x2, 49-46)
Robbie Peralta def. JorDan Christensen via Unanimous Decision (50-45x2, 49-46)
Ryan Petersen def. Matt Socholotiuk via Unanimous Decision (49-46x2, 50-45)
Rodney Thomas def. Art Driscoll via Unanimous Decision (49-44x2, 48-45)
Mike Andaya def. Dan Godoy via TKO in Round 2 (0:45)
Caleb Avila def. Tyler Sijohn via TKO in Round 3 (1:25)
Iman Williams def. Gabriel Mota via KO in Round 1 (1:54)
Jeremy Sauceda def. Luis Villasenor via TKO in Round 1 (0:38)
Justyn Martinez def. Alex Gutierrez via TKO in Round 1 (1:05)
