Newcastle, England (Aug. 1, 2026) Bradley Taylor made history on Saturday night becoming the Inaugural Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) UK Bantamweight Champion by beating Lewis “The Leprechaun” Garside in the Main Event of BKFC Fight Night Newcastle at the sold-out Walker Activity Dome in Newcastle, England.
Taylor recorded the sole knockdown of the night in the opening round, paving the way to the unanimous decision victory (49-45×2, 50-44). The 26-year-old Hartlepool, England product is now unbeaten in his first five trips to the BKFC Squared Circle. Garside, who hails from Sunderland, England, is now 3-1.
In front of a deafening hometown crowd, Newcastle, England’s Lewis “The Machine” Keen, (6-1), earned the next shot at reigning BKFC UK Lightweight Champion Jonny Graham by defeating Stew “Tank” Martin in Saturday’s Co-Main Event. Keen dropped Martin to the canvas twice before their bout was stopped at 1:27 of the fourth round. Martin, a product of Bolton, England, is now 1-1.
In Saturday’s Feature Fight, Dylan “The Cramlington Cobra” Fail turned heads in his BKFC premiere, taking home the unanimous decision victory over Liam Hutchinson in their welterweight matchup. All three judges agreed on the 49-45 verdict for the winner from Cramlington, England. Hutchinson, who represents Peterlee, England, is now 2-2.
Unbeaten Washington, England heavyweight James “Sugar Man” Walker upped his record to 3-0 with a hard-fought decision victory over Barry “The Pitbull” Boyle. Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and one scored the contest 50-45, all for Walker. Boyle, who hails from Glasgow, Scotland, was making his BKFC debut.
Carlisle, England’s Mickey “Be The Example” Nolan shined in his BKFC debut by earning a one-sided decision at the expense of “Big Bad” John Ferguson in the middleweight division. All three judges scored the fight 50-45 for Nolan. Ferguson, a product of Ashington, England, is now 1-4.
Middlesbrough, England’s Harrison Cave and Danny “The Destroyer” Moir of Scarborough, England fought to a draw in light-heavyweight action. Cave scored the sole knockdown of the night, but it wasn’t enough to convince the judges, who all agreed on the 47-47 verdict. Cave was making his BKFC debut, while Moir is now 2-2-1.
Northumberland, England’s KJ Metcalfe was victorious in his BKFC premiere, stopping Owen Webster in the third round of their welterweight showdown. The stoppage came at 1:36 of the third frame. Webster, who hails from Kirkholt, England, was also making his BKFC debut.
Hartlepool, England’s Cory “El Chapo” Chapman picked himself up off the canvas three times and rallied for a come-from-behind victory over Jack “The Berzerker” Blair in bantamweight action. Chapman logged five knockdowns of his own before winning by stoppage with one second left in the second stanza. Chapman and the Annan, Scotland fighter Blair were both stepping into the Squared Circle for the first time.
Leicester, England light-heavyweight Harry Bray was victorious in his BKFC debut, flooring Dylan Yendall twice before Yendall’s corner called a stop to the fight one minute into the second round. The Middlesbrough, England product Yendall was also making his BKFC debut.
Darlington, England’s Chris “Hightower” Burton won his BKFC premiere after dropping “Big” Dan Curtin three times in the opening round of their heavyweight matchup. Two judges scored the fight 48-44 and one had it 47-45, all for Burton. Curtin, who hails from Oxford, England, is now 0-2.
Wigan, England flyweight “Savage” Sally McDonald was stellar in her BKFC premiere, dropping “The Tartan Witch” Sandra Rees three times en route to the third-round stoppage victory in the opening bout of the night. Time of the stoppage was 1:38 of the third frame. Reese, who represents Annan, Scotland, was also making her BKFC debut.
BKFC Fight Night Newcastle Results
Bradley Taylor def. Lewis Garside via Unanimous Decision (49-45×2, 50-44)
Wins Inaugural BKFC U.K. Bantamweight Title
Lewis Keen def. Stew Martin via TKO in Round 4 (1:27)
Dylan Fail def. Liam Hutchinson via Unanimous Decision (49-45×3)
James Walker def. Barry Boyle via Unanimous Decision (49-46×2, 50-45)
Mickey Nolan def. John Ferguson via Unanimous Decision (50-45×3)
Harrison Cave vs. Danny Moir declared a Draw (47-47×3)
KJ Metcalfe def. Owen Webster via TKO in Round 3 (1:36)
Cory Chapman def. Jack Blair via TKO in Round 2 (1:59)
Harry Bray def. Dylan Yendall via TKO in Round 2 (1:00)
Chris Burton def. Dan Curtin via Unanimous Decision (48-44×2, 47-45)
Sally McDonald def. Sandra Rees via TKO in Round 3 (1:38)
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