Jeremy Stephens pulled off an upset eliminating Eddie Alvarez atop BKFC KnuckleMania 5 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA on January 25. The San Diego-based former MMA fighter defeated the local former UFC lightweight champion by TKO, securing two knockdowns in the third round.
Stephens first dropped Alvarez with a big right hand. The second knockdown came from another right hand after connecting a left hook. The corner of the Philadelphia native called it a day prior to the start of the fourth round to save their fighter from further punishment.
With the victory, Jeremy Stephens of Des Moines, Iowa improved to 3-0 and remained unbeaten in the BKFC. Eddie Alvarez dropped to 1-2 and suffered his second straight defeat.
“Everybody was against me, but I came here to run this s***,” Jeremy Stephens said. “You can’t stop me. This is resilience. My whole life is dedicated to this.”
Conor McGregor, who was also inside the ring, went face-to-face with Stephens, saying, “Let’s set a date. Who’s going to stop me? Nobody. David [Feldman], let’s make the date!”
In the co-main event, Ben Rothwell (4-0) of Kenosha, Wisconsin knocked out British Mick Terrill (9-2) with an overhand right to become a new BKFC heavyweight champion. Australian Bec Rawlings (4-3) defeated Taylor Starling (4-4) of Rock Hill, SC by unanimous decision in the featured bout at flyweight with the scores 50-44, 50-44, and 49-45.
Among other BKFC KnuckleMania 5 results, Patrick Brady (2-0) of Sewell, NJ stopped Zach Calmus (5-3) of Gloucester, MA in 53 seconds at heavyweight. Local middleweight John Garbarino (1-0) made a successful debut in the BKFC with a first-round KO against Apostle Spencer (0-2) of Albuquerque, NM.
Kaine Tomlinson Jr (2-1) of Roanoke, VA knocked out Philadelphia’s Pat Sullivan (0-1) in 37 seconds at welterweight. Steve Banks (4-2) of South Carolina stopped local newcomer Joey Dawejko (0-1) in the third round at heavyweight. Brandon Meyer (3-2) of Nebraska KO’d another local newcomer Zedekiah Montanez (0-1) in the second round at lightweight.
Travis Thompson (6-6) of Pottstown, PA stopped Zachary Pannell (1-3) of Lancaster, PA in the second round at bantamweight. Phil Caracappa (1-0) of New Jersey defeated Noah Norman (0-1) of Coatesville, PA via fourth-round disqualification at bantamweight.
Among the BKFC KnuckleMania 5 prelims, Cody Russell (1-0) of Philadelphia defeated Logan Tucker (0-1) of Alabama via third-round TKO at middleweight. Kicking off the action, New York-based newcomer Itso Babulaidze (1-0) from Georgia came out victorious over Bryan McDowell (1-1) of Maysville, KY by unanimous decision at middleweight with the scores 48-42, 47-43, and 48-42.
BKFC KnuckleMania 5 marked the first bare-knuckle boxing event in Philadelphia, PA.