Newcastle, England (Feb. 8, 2025) The undefeated Karl “The Wasp” Thompson needed just 106 seconds towin the vacant Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) Cruiserweight United Kingdom Title in the main event of BKFC Fight Night Newcastle UK on Saturday night at the sold-out Walker Activity Dome in Newcastle, England. The event aired LIVE worldwide on The BKFC App.
In one of the most exciting one-round fights in BKFC history, the undefeated Sedgefield, England fighter picked himself up off the canvas, dropped Rob “The Great White” Boardman, and then scored the win via standing technical knockout.
Thompson is now undefeated in his first four trips to the BKFC squared circle. Boardman, who represents Weston-super-Mare, England, is now 6-1 in his bare-knuckle fighting career.
In the BKFC Fight Night Newcastle UK co-main event, Bishop Auckland, England’s Pic “The Mauler” Jardine defeated Tony “Bare Knuckle” Shields of Hull, England in a highly entertaining middleweight showdown. Two judges scored the fight 49-46, while one had it 50-45, all for Jardine, who is now 2-0 in his BKFC career. Shields was making his BKFC debut.
In the BKFC Fight Night Newcastle UK feature fight, fast-rising Newcastle lightweight Lewis “The Machine” Keen improved to 3-1 under the BKFC banner with a hard-fought, unanimous decision over Wales’ “Iron” Ryan McCarthy. The three ringside judges agreed on the 50-45 verdict. McCarthy is now 1-1.
Hebburn, England’s Paul Cook upped his BKFC record to 3-1 with a three-knockdown technical knockout victory at the expense of Blackburn, England’s Adam Grogan in welterweight action. The fight was stopped 25 seconds into the fourth round. Grogan was making his BKFC debut.
Burnhope, England’s Travis Dickinson introduced himself in style to the BKFC heavyweight division with an impressive debut victory over Worksop, England’s Rowan “The Manbaby” Gregory. The bout was stopped at the conclusion of the second round, with the win going to Dickinson, a former professional boxing champion in the United Kingdom.
Doncaster, England’s “Big” Joe Lister turned heads in his first BKFC fight with a first-round stoppage over “Big Bad” John Ferguson in the light-heavyweight division. The bout was stopped with 12 seconds left in the opening frame. Ferguson, a product of Ashington, England, saw his BKFC record move to 1-3 with the loss.
Sunderland, England featherweight Lewis “The Leprechaun” Garside logged a pair of knockdowns and earned a unanimous decision in his successful BKFC debut against Bartek “The Polish Plough” Kanabey. All three judges scored the contest 50-43 for Garside. Kanabey, who hails from Workington, England, is now 2-2 under the BKFC banner.
Spennymoor, England’s Brandon Comby rose to the occasion in his BKFC debut, defeating Corby, England’s Ryan Carmichael in lightweight action. All three judges scored the fight 50-45 for Comby. Carmichael entered the fight with a 1-0 BKFC record.
Representing Liverpool, Michael “El Animal” Henderson defeated Liam Hutchinson of Peterlee, England via unanimous decision in their showdown of debuting welterweights. Two judges scored the fight 50-45 while one had it 49-47, all to the advantage of Henderson.
Stalybridge, England’s Leigh “The Boom” Cohoon lived up to his nickname in his BKFC debut, dropping fellow debuting fighter, Kane “The Hitman” Wilkinson of Doncaster, twice enroute to the third-round stoppage victory in their light-heavyweight matchup. The bout was stopped 33 seconds into the third round.
James Walker, representing Tyne and Wear, England, earned the win via unanimous decision in his BKFC debut against Chorley, England’s Jan “Tank” Sulecki, who was also making his BKFC debut. All three judges scored the fight 50-44 in favor of Walker.
Edinburgh, Scotland’s Oskar Smykiel shined in his BKFC debut, stopping fellow debuting fighter, Alan “AJ” Comby of Spennymoor, via technical knockout with just 11 seconds remaining in the opening frame of their welterweight matchup.
Unbeaten South African featherweight Tommy “The Farmer” Strydom cruised to 4-0 with a dominant victory over John Spencer. Strydom sent Spencer to the canvas four times before their bout was stopped at 1:18 of the third round. The Manchester, England product Spencer is now 0-4 in BKFC.
BKFC Fight Night Newcastle UK Results
Karl Thompson def. Rob Boardman via TKO in Round 1 (1:46)
Wins vacant BKFC UK Cruiserweight Title
Pic Jardine def. Tony Shields via Unanimous Decision (49-46×2, 50-45)
Paul Cook def. Adam Grogan via TKO in Round 4 (0:25)
Travis Dickinson def. Rowan Gregory via TKO in Round 2 (2:00)
Joe Lister def. John Ferguson via TKO in Round 1 (1:48)
Lewis Garside def. Bartek Kanabey via Unanimous Decision (50-43×3)
Brandon Comby def. Ryan Carmichael via Unanimous Decision (50-45×3)
Michael Henderson def. Liam Hutchinson via Unanimous Decision (50-45×2, 49-47)
Leigh Cohoon def. Kane Wilkinson via TKO in Round 3 (0:33)
James Walker def. Jan Sulecki via Unanimous Decision (50-44×3)
Oskar Smykiel def. Alan Comby via TKO in Round 1 (1:49)
Tommy Strydom def. John Spencer via TKO in Round 3 (1:18)
Social Media
Instagram: @BareKnuckleFC
Twitter: @BareKnuckleFC
Facebook: @BareKnuckleFC
YouTube: @BareKnuckleFightingChampionship
TikTok: @BareKnuckleFC
Website: www.BKFC.com