Jimmie Rivera spent three rounds chopping at Brandon Meyer’s midsection Saturday night at BKFC 95, and then he went upstairs. A left hook at 0:46 of Round 4 left Meyer face-down on the floor at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, a finish MMA Fighting summed up on X by declaring Rivera “just TURNED OFF” his opponent. MiddleEasy noted the hook landed after Rivera’s steady work downstairs, which is how you crack a guy who’s busy guarding his chin.
The co-main event came with a strange sales pitch attached. Rivera, the former UFC and Bellator fighter, now works full time as a police officer. Meyer, according to Bloody Elbow, served 12 years in prison. BKFC billed it cop vs. criminal, and both men played along. Rivera’s line from his final pre-fight interview on Friday: “He gets to beat me up and not get arrested for it, so it’s a win-win.” It turned out to be a loss-loss for Meyer.
Herring keeps the belt, loses the boss
The main event went the other direction. Jamel Herring, the former world champion boxer making his third walk into the BKFC ring, kept his bantamweight title with a split decision over John Dodson across five rounds. Dodson, the Ultimate Fighter 14 winner and former UFC title contender, said beforehand he planned to rush Herring and throw haymakers. He handled the rushing. The haymakers mostly stayed home, and the fight bogged down in clinches while Herring stuck behind his jab.
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BKFC president David Feldman didn’t hide his feelings. “I think you guys appreciate that I am always honest and I will say that I was disgusted by the main event tonight,” he told Bloody Elbow. He went after the one-shot-at-a-time pot shotting and the lack of engagement, added “We’re there to see a fight and I don’t think that we saw a fight,” and credited Dodson for trying to make one. Feldman called Herring a phenomenal boxer who has to throw more and give fans more action going forward. MiddleEasy reported that Herring accepted the feedback and explained his approach.
BKFC’s own post said Andrew Strode is next on Herring’s radar. Cris Cyborg, for one, offered applause on X.
Everything else on the card did what Feldman pays for. The night produced seven knockouts, most of them in a hurry. Tony Soto stopped Anthony Pike at 0:40 of Round 2, Santo Curatolo finished Anthony Yost at 0:37 of Round 2, and Dylan Pitt stopped Nicholas Saragosa at 0:52 of Round 1. Dalvin Blair (1:22 of Round 1 over Paris Boyd), Cole Cameron (1:44 of Round 1 over Phil Caracappa) and Brooke Evans (1:59 of Round 2 over Gabrielle Roman) all got home early too. Mike Medrano took a split decision over Rob Emerson, and Noah Getahoun and Dustin Bailey fought to a unanimous draw.
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My take: the cop-versus-convict billing was the kind of hype I usually wave off, and the finish still earned its replay. Rivera did the unglamorous part first, investing in the body for three full rounds before Meyer had a reason to worry about anything but his ribs, and that’s veteran patience paying off. Herring won the scorecards and lost the room, and in bare knuckle the room signs the checks. If he jabs his way past Andrew Strode the same way, Feldman is going to need a bigger antacid bottle.
