Birmingham, U.K. (May 30, 2026) Rico “Bon Bon” Franco won the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) Interim Welterweight World Title and Combat Sports Superstar Darren “The Gorilla” Till was stellar in his highly anticipated bare knuckle fighting premiere on Saturday night at BKFC 90 at the sold-out Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England.
Rico “Bon Bon” Franco, BKFC’s European Welterweight Champion, defeated BKFC U.K. Welterweight Champion Connor “The Brumtown Bomber” Tierney to claim the BKFC Interim Welterweight World Title in Saturday’s Main Event. The Gainsborough, England product sent Tierney to the canvas five times en route to the knockout at 1:18 of the second stanza.
“My mindset now is invincible,” Franco said in his post-fight interview. “Dustin Pague, come to England and I’ll take the belt off you and take your (expletive) teeth out of your mouth. Let’s go!”
Franco now boasts an overall bare-knuckle fighting record of 11-3, while the Birmingham, England product Tierney saw his record move to 9-3 in defeat.
Former UFC title contender Darren “The Gorilla” Till defeated the previously unbeaten Aaron “The Joker” Chalmers in Saturday’s Co-Main Event. The Liverpool, England light-heavyweight picked himself up off the canvas and rallied for the show-stopping second-round knockout over Chalmers, who rose to fame as a cast member on MTV’s iconic Geordie Shore reality TV program. The stoppage came 22 seconds into the second round.
In Till’s post-fight interview, the polarizing combat sports star left no doubt that he will be back in the BKFC Squared Circle soon: “I was made for this! I’m a maniac; I’m built for bare-knuckle … I want everyone and anyone! I don’t care! I’m not scared of anyone!”
Chalmers, who hails from Manchester, England, is now 2-1 under the BKFC banner.
Saturday’s event aired LIVE worldwide on The BKFC App.
Below are quotes from David Feldman, Founder and President of BKFC at the post-event
press conference.
On BKFC 90: “Hope you had fun tonight. It was a great night for us in Birmingham.”
On BKFC’s future in the United Kingdom: “We’re going to bring guys over for big fights (in the United States) and bring some big fights over here. I’m going to be here a lot more because I want to make sure we’ve got our foot on the gas pedal. I want this sport to be as big as it can be in the U.K.”
On Darren Till’s BKFC premiere: “I was very, very pleased with his performance. It was refreshing to see him get dropped and get back up. We don’t know how you’ll react when you get hit with a bare knuckle punch. He got dropped, he got back up, and he responded with a knockout finish.”
Attendance: 7,492
Knockout of the Night: Rico Franco.
Fight of the Night: George Thorpe defeated Leigh Cohoon.
Swansea, Wales’ John “The White Mike Tyson” Phillips needed just 63 seconds to steamroll Ryan “The Cockroach” Barrett in the cruiserweight division in Saturday’s Feature Fight. Phillips, a six-time UFC vet, is now 2-0 with back-to-back stoppage victories under the BKFC banner. Barrett, who represents Belfast, Ireland, was making his highly anticipated BKFC premiere after competing 11 times on the bare knuckle fighting regional scene.
Glasgow, Scotland bantamweight Brian “Fortified” Hyslop earned his first BKFC victory on Saturday by defeating Jonno “JCB” Chipchase via unanimous decision. Hyslop recorded a pair of knockdowns en route to the win. Two judges agreed on the 50-43 verdict and one judge scored the bout 49-45. Chipchase, who hails from Manchester, England, is now 3-3 in his BKFC career.
Birmingham, England’s “Gorgeous” George Thorpe upped his BKFC record to 3-1-1 with a hard-fought, unanimous decision victory at the expense of the previously unbeaten Leigh “The Boom” Cohoon in middleweight action. Two judges scored the fight 49-46 and one had it 50-45, all in favor of Thorpe. Cohoon, who represents Manchester, England, is now 3-1 in the Squared Circle.
Wa?brzych, Poland featherweight Michael Lesniak was victorious in his hotly anticipated BKFC premiere, stopping Martin “Mr. Pink” McDonough in the fourth round of their bout. Lesniak recorded four knockdowns before the fight was stopped 57 seconds into the fourth stanza. Lesniak has a professional gloved boxing record of 19-3-1. McDonough, who hails from Abertillery, Wales, was also making his BKFC debut.
Peterlee, England’s Liam Hutchinson upped his BKFC record to 2-1 with a second straight victory over Simeon “Mr. Miyagi” Ottley in the middleweight division. Two judges scored the contest 50-45 and one had it 48-47, all in favor of Hutchinson. The Leeds, England product Ottley’s BKFC record moved to 2-2 in defeat.
Burton upon Trent, England middleweight Paul “The One Man Army” O’Sullivan was dominant on Saturday, earning a unanimous decision victory at the expense of Paul “Soul Snatcher” Hilz. All three judges scored the fight 50-45. O’Sullivan is now 1-1 under the BKFC banner. Hilz, who represents Essex, England, was making his BKFC debut after competing 19 times as a professional on the regional bare knuckle fighting circuit.
Bradford, England’s Tommy Hawthorn sent “Wild” Will Smith to the canvas three times en route to the third-round victory in lightweight action. Smith’s corner stopped the fight at 1:42 of the third frame. Hawthorn smashed his way to 2-0 with the win, while the London, England fighter Smith is now 1-1.
Birmingham, England’s Kris Trezise won by knockout in his highly anticipated BKFC premiere, stopping Luke “Sledgehammer” Brassfield in the fourth round of their welterweight matchup. The bout was called to a stop with seven seconds remaining in the penultimate round. Trezise brought an overall bare-knuckle fighting record of 6-1-1 into his BKFC debut, while the Nottingham, England product Brassfield fell to 0-2 with the loss.
Mr?gowo, Poland heavyweight Lucasz “The Goat” Parobiec was victorious in his long-awaited BKFC premiere, defeating Kaseem Saleem in the fourth round of their back-and-forth battle. Entering Saturday’s action with a body of work that included 16 professional bare knuckle bouts, Parobiec earned the stoppage 47 seconds into the fourth round. Saleem, who hails from Dumfries, Scotland, is now 1-2 overall in bare knuckle action. Saleem was cornered by former BKFC World Heavyweight Champion Mick Terrill.
Northampton, England’s Nathan “Too Slick” Leeson turned heads in his hotly anticipated BKFC premiere, stopping the previously unbeaten Stevie Davenport in the third round of their lightweight clash in the opening bout of the night. Leeson picked himself up off the canvas before rallying for the stoppage 89 seconds into the third stanza. Leeson now boasts a
9-1-2 overall record in his bare-knuckle fighting career. Davenport, who represents Portsmouth, England, was also making his highly anticipated BKFC debut after racking up a spotless 4-0 record on the regional bare knuckle fighting scene.
BKFC 90 RESULTS
Rico Franco def. Connor Tierney via KO in Round 2 (1:18)
Wins BKFC Interim World Welterweight Title
Darren Till def. Aaron Chalmers via TKO in Round 2 (0:22)
Brian Hyslop def. Jonno Chipchase via Unanimous Decision (50-43×2, 49-45)
George Thorpe def. Leigh Cohoon via Unanimous Decision (49-46×2, 50-45)
Michael Lesniak def. Martin McDonough via TKO in Round 4 (0:57)
Liam Hutchinson def. Simeon Ottley via Unanimous Decision (50-45×2, 48-47)
Paul O’Sullivan def. Paul Hilz via Unanimous Decision (50-45×3)
Tommy Hawthorn def. Will Smith via TKO in Round 3 (1:42)
Kris Trezise def. Luke Brassfield via TKO in Round 4 (1:53)
Lucasz Parobiec def. Kaseem Saleem via TKO in Round 4 (0:47)
Nathan Leeson def. Stevie Davenport via TKO in Round 3 (1:29)
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Website: www.BKFC.com
