Caleb Avila fought for more than himself at BKFC Fight Night: Pechanga.
Less than a month before the event, Avila witnessed the sudden and tragic passing of his dear friend, Liston Lewis.
“That was all for my brother,” Avila says of his hard-fought TKO victory over Tylor Sijohn at the sold-out Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, CA.
“Everybody after the fight kept coming up to me, saying how hard I was getting hit. My brother was keeping me up during those hits. He was there in spirit, and deep in my heart.”
Avila says the last few months have been a dream.
“Sometimes it’s a good dream — getting my first BKFC victory and celebrating with all my fans in the lobby. Then the next second it turns back into the nightmare that I lost my best friend,” he says.
“Every day is just about trying to find that medium.”
Avila was touched by his community’s reaction to Lewis’ passing. With a heavy heart, the proud Valley Center, CA product will represent his fallen friend in all of his future battles. Avila is optimistic about his future in the stacked BKFC heavyweight division.
“I’ve got that Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone mentality — anybody, anywhere, any time,” he says with a smile. “I’d love to fight on every Pechanga card, work my way up the rankings, and be the region’s homegrown heavyweight star.”
