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Heavyweight Chris Curtis talks about how UFC president Dana White showed compassion during a difficult moment of his life and career.

Heavyweight Chris Barnett was going through some serious personal turmoil ahead of his UFC Vegas 51 fight with Martin Buday in April. As the 36-year-old fighter told BJPenn.com, he received a phone call about his ailing wife about 30 hours before the fight, with doctors telling him he “needed to make a decision.”

“I don’t know if you know but my wife had passed away. They called me 30 hours before the Buday fight saying I needed to make a decision. I was like, ‘huh, what do you mean?’ When I left she was fine and now this is popping up.

“With all that going on that camp wasn’t a camp man. She went to the hospital on February 8 and was in the hospital until May 10. Training wise I would get maybe a good two hours in a day and then I was in the hospital the entire time. It was one of those things, a lot of fighters (would’ve pulled out).”

Barnett’s wife, who passed on in May, had been dealing with encephalitis and was at the hospital at the time. He decided to push through with the Buday fight, where he lost via technical decision after being unable to continue from an inadvertent elbow strike to the back of the head.

But he did get an unexpected phone call from Dana White himself, which for him was a huge deal.

“Dana White also called me and cussed me out. He was like ‘dude, why would you take (the fight?),’” Barnett recalled. “I told him I didn’t want to but I also understand I see people pull out and I see what y’all say.

“Even with something of that magnitude, I shouldn’t have fought, because I know I wasn’t getting the training. But I signed that contract.

“Once we sign that contract, life is going to happen and it is what it is, I hate to say it like that but that’s what a lot of outside people look at. You sign the contract, and unless you get hurt they don’t care, that’s technically what the contract says.”

Barnett remains grateful for the small gesture from the UFC boss.

“Dana is always invited to the BBQ because he called me, he didn’t have to,” Barnett said. “He called me and was like ‘why, are you alright? Let me know if you need anything’ type of thing. He knows I’m not the type of person to ask for anything but he still did stuff on the outside.

“A lot of times when fighters talk about pay and all this other stuff. I just don’t understand because they take care of us… well, they take care of me. Win, lose or draw, he didn’t have to make that phone call, and he did.

“He went through a couple of channels to find me and get ahold of me, so that right there adds so much more to it. Like ‘damn, he cares.’”

Barnett (22-8) returns to action this weekend at UFC 279 against Chris Collier at the prelims.

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Tai Tuivasa credits Ciryl Gane with getting the better of him at UFC Paris.

UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa has issued a statement following his KO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Paris, crediting ‘Bon Gamin’ as the better man on fight night.

The 29-year-old Aussie left the Octagon bloodied and battered after being knocked out with a barrage of lefts and rights against the fence in round three. In the round prior, he almost knocked out Gane with an overhand right.

The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak for Tuivasa, but the heavyweight slugger is still ranked in the top three and likely only a couple more wins away from a title shot.

Here’s what he had to say following the fight: “Shoutout to Ciryl, he was better than me last night,” Tuivasa posted on Instagram. “Or whatever night it was haha. Probably one of the best crowds I’ve ever performed in front of. The fans were crazy. Appreciate all the love. Shoutout to my team, my family that all came over. We’ll be back.”

Prior to UFC Paris, Tuivasa had knocked out Stefan Struve, Harry Hunsucker, Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai, and Derrick Lewis, cementing a reputation as one of the most dangerous punchers in the division. He is currently #3 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.

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The former UFC welterweight champion may have only actually been unconscious for a few moments, but that doesn’t mean that things are exactly crystal clear for the time that followed.

For the most part, Kamaru Usman couldn’t possibly sound more serene about his loss to Leon Edwards. The loss of the championship title, the first knockout defeat of his career, he certainly has reasons to get down in the dumps if he’s looking for them. Instead, however, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ seems to have shaken the whole thing off and is looking out ahead to the future.

“I was OK. I was maybe disappointed that I lost, but I wasn’t bummed like the first loss I had in my career,” Usman said on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan experience. “That one f-cked with me. It was the uncertainty of the future and also because there was nothing I could do, I couldn’t defend myself because I didn’t have the knowledge. That was what hurt me the most. … With this one it was like, I know my mistakes.”

Most of those mistakes, though, Usman knows from video replays of his bout. His actual memory of the event? That’s a lot more spotty. The champion was up big heading into the last minute of his title bout against Edwards at UFC 278 when the challenger hid a left high kick behind a 1-2 feint. Usman may have been back on his feet by the time the results were read, but there’s a lot more missing from his memory than just those couple minutes.

“I was good,” Usman said, recounting how he apparently must have felt immediately after the KO (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I watched the fight over, I’m good. I was talking, I talked to Trevor [Wittman], I talked to everyone, because you know you go back and then you go in the medical tent and they take care of you and all of that. I talked to my family, I hugged everyone, because it was on video and everything. I remember sitting. It was like, Leon gave me a 20-minute nap.

“I was laughing hysterically in the hospital because I had to go in to get scanned and all of that, which everything was fine. Immediately I come to, I’m in the ambulance, they’re asking, ‘Do you know where you are?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, Salt Lake City. UFC 278.’ They’re like, ‘What’s your date of birth?’ I answer them. They’re like, ‘Wow, perfect.’ I answered everything perfectly.”

In reality, it seems most of that conversation is a blank in terms of what Usman actually remembers. As far as he was concerned he we out there looking to set Edwards up for a couple more big punches—and then he was in the ambulance answering questions about if he knew where he was.

“I’m moving, moving, OK,” Usman remembered. “I’ve got him set up, which I really didn’t. I shake left, I shake right, and I’m sitting in an ambulance and they’re asking me, ‘Do you know where you’re at?’ I’m like, ‘What the f-ck?’”

In the immediate aftermath of the bout talk immediately turned to a potential rematch between Usman and Edwards, this time in England, to settle their score once and for all. However, with UFC 279 upcoming and the chance that Khamzat Chimaev could walk away from the event with another big win under his belt, Edwards’ team recently made it known that they wouldn’t pass on a fight with ‘Borz’ first if that’s the direction the UFC wants to go.

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Luis Ortiz lost a decision to Andy Ruiz Jr. and then put on a ‘FREE CAIN VELASQUEZ’ t-shirt to show his support for the incarcerated former UFC heavyweight champion.

Luis Ortiz was knocked down three times in a decision loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. but used his moment in the spotlight to show support for incarcerated former UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez, by putting on a t-shirt that read ‘FREE CAIN VELASQUEZ.’

Velasquez is currently being held without bond, and is facing 10 different charges that include: attempted murder, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle or aircraft, three counts of assault with a firearm, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, wilfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony.

The former UFC champion allegedly chased after the vehicle of Harry Eugene Goularte, a man who is accused of molesting Velasquez’s child. It is alleged that, during that chase, Velasquez shot at the vehicle multiple times with a 40-caliber handgun. The supposed incident wounded Goularte’s stepfather, who was one of the passengers at the time.

Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, commented on the incident stating, “The sad tragedy is that Mr. Velasquez chose to take the law into his own hands, endangering the public and everyone in the truck.”

A ton of support came pouring in from the fight community, from fellow fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Anthony Pettis, and Marlon “Chito” Vera — to the UFC’s president, Dana White. Fans and fighters alike have rallied around Velasquez by utilizing the hashtag #FreeCain, and now Luis Ortiz is yet another combat sports athlete standing with Velasquez, sympathizing with his situation.

Velasquez is scheduled to appear at a pre-trial hearing on September 26, and has plead not guilty to all charges. If found guilty of attempted murder, Velasquez could face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years to life.

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The WBC and lineal heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, seems to be quite ready to face the WBO, WBA, and IBF champion, Oleksandr Usyk.

Tyson Fury previously claimed to have retired, but the WBC and lineal heavyweight champion took to social media to brashly state his readiness to box Oleksandr Usyk. He claims he wants to face the current WBO, WBA, and IBF champion as soon as December of this year.

As transcribed by Bad Left Hook, Fury fired off some rather spicy words for his potential adversary:

“Usyk, middleweight, you say you want the WBC (belt) … it’s held by the ‘Gypsy King,’ and it’s held tightly, grasped tight. All roads lead to a seven-foot bear that will absolutely destroy you, middleweight. Middleweight, you will get smashed to bits!”

“You say you wanted to fight me after you beat the bodybuilder, called me out on television, and now you’re being a little bitch pussy boy, running, hiding, saying you’ve got injuries. You ain’t got no injuries, you had a sparring contest. Get out and fight in December. You let your mouth go, now let’s back it up. See if you can back it up, middleweight.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s December or April or August of next year. The outcome will be the same, I will obliterate you. I am a seven-foot, 20-stone bear, and I will destroy you, middleweight. Find your balls, come see me, b—ch.”

Following the WWE’s Clash at the Castle event, Fury followed up by saying that regardless of Usyk being ready to compete, or not, “The Gypsy King” will be defending his WBC belt this year in the United Kingdom. In a backstage interview with Ariel Helwani, Fury stated, “I’m going to be fighting very soon. Against we don’t know who, we’re still looking for an opponent. I’m going to fight in the next few months here in the UK.”

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Watch video from the boxing match between Andy Ruiz Jr and Luis Ortiz.

Andy Ruiz returned to the ring Saturday night, with the former three belt heavyweight champion facing 43-year-old former title challenger Luis Ortiz.

The heavyweight contest started pretty intense, with Ortiz landing big early, but Ruiz firing back with bombs and scoring two big knockdowns in round two. Ortiz somehow survived and made it to the later rounds. Although the pace slowed a bit after the wild start, the contest remained fairly competitive on the subsequent rounds.

In the seventh round, Ruiz managed to land big again, hurting Ortiz and eventually dropping him with a right hand.

Ruiz lowered his output and essentially made it a longer fight, but he still took majority of the rounds. Ortiz had a badly swollen eye by the end of it, but to his credit, he managed to survive and still kept trying to land big shots until the final bell.

Ruiz won the decision, but the scores were curiously close despite the three knockdowns.

Official Result: Andy Ruiz Jr. def. Luis Ortiz by unanimous decision (113-112, 114-111, 114-111).

Since losing his belts in the rematch against Anthony Joshua, Ruiz has now won two straight bouts against a pair of older former title challengers.

Following the fight, Deontay Wilder stepped inside the ring to face off with a possible future opponent.

Watch videos from the heavyweight slugfest below:

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Get a unique rundown of all the trophies that should have been handed out at UFC Paris with Dayne Fox’s Unofficial Awards.

The primary narrative of UFC Paris all depends on perspective. If it’s the main event we’re talking about, then Cyril Gane and Tai Tuivasa put on one of the better heavyweight headliners that we’ve had in several years. Gane operated with his usual efficiency for most of the fight, but Tuivasa found holes in Gane’s tight defense to drop the Frenchman and put him on the ropes. ‘Bon Gamin’ hung in there and was able to return to his typical outside attack centered on the body, wearing down the hard-hitting Aussie.

For fans more interested in the business side of the sport, UFC Paris was also an unmitigated success. The Paris crowd was loud from the curtain jerker to the final fight, giving the impression to many that France might be a future MMA hotbed if their enthusiasm is any indication. I wouldn’t make that kind of prediction yet, but no doubt it was a rowdy bunch. Throw in that former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker looked as sharp as ever in disposing of Marvin Vettori and it was a hell of a consequential night.

Those narratives will all get plenty of attention in various articles and websites over the next week. For now, the Unofficial Awards are here to focus on the quick hits less noticeable narratives that emerged, in hopes of giving a more all-around look at the event. Let’s dig in:

For a different perspective, click here. For an audio preview, click here.

BIGGEST JUMP IN STOCK

Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

Gane and Whittaker had more impressive victories, given they outclassed high level opposition, but they were already considered to be 1a in their respective divisions (just behind the champions) by most observers. Thus, I’ll go with Nathaniel Wood. The Englishman moved up to the featherweight division earlier this year and there were concerns about his potentially being undersized, standing just 5’ 6”.

Sure, he beat Charles Rosa earlier this year without issue, but any average UFC fighter should do the same. That made Charles Jourdain a BIG step up in competition—the Canadian himself coming off a controversial loss to a ranked opponent—and Wood dismantled him. ‘The Prospect’ hurt Jourdain several times and secured takedowns in every round as well. Jourdain doesn’t employ a strategy where he’d force his physicality on his opposition, so we’re still not entirely sure how much Wood’s lack of size will hurt him. Regardless, the early returns are fantastic—and have many believing Wood will probably have a number before his name after his next contest.

BIGGEST FALL IN STOCK

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Either something was wrong with Vettori or Whittaker took away his desire to fight. For whatever reason, the aggressive version that we’ve all become exceptionally familiar with was nowhere to be seen in the final round (after offering just brief glimpses over the first two). Vettori spent most of the fight playing punching bag for the elusive Whittaker, offering very little return fire.

Had ‘The Italian Dream’ been able to at least put forth a respectable effort, losing to the former champ wouldn’t have really damaged his standing. Instead, not only does it have him sliding down the middleweight ladder, his reputation as a someone unwilling to back down doesn’t appear as sterling as it was heading into the event. Vettori can rebound if he can knock the block off his next opponent and regain some momentum, but KOs haven’t exactly been his forte. It’s possible Vettori has peaked.

BEST NEWCOMER

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Cristian Quinonez jumped out in front for this spot early, but Abus Magomedov sealed it up when he blasted through Dustin Stoltzfus in just 19 seconds. Credit needs to go to Stoltzfus for even surviving the initial front kick to the face from Magomedov, but the German wasn’t fooled by Stoltzfus’ poker face. He maintained the attack and landed several punches to put Stoltzfus away. It’s easy to forget how much hype there was around Magomedov in 2018 given his activity level has been low lately—this was only his third fight in four years—but this was a hell of a reminder that he’s got a lot to offer.

SAVED THEIR JOB

Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

Once upon a time, Roman Kopylov was considered to be one of the brighter prospects the middleweight division had seen in a while—back when he was signed to the UFC in 2019. Inactivity couple with losses in both of his appearances had most believing he was a bust. It could even be argued the inactivity allowed a couple of his prime years to go to waste. But, at 31-years-old, he’s still young enough that he could begin to put it all together. The way he was able to put together his strikes against Alessio Di Chirico is a great sign in that direction. Putting away Di Chirico allows him to keep his job and earn the opportunity to show he’s got what it takes to hang around in the UFC.

START TYPING A RESUME

Six years is a hell of a long time to stay on the UFC roster. Di Chirico had several nice moments in that time—his head kick KO of Joaquin Buckley immediately comes to mind—but a stretch of five losses in six fights makes it damn near impossible to avoid the chopping block. It isn’t like it was a murderer’s row the Italian fell to in that time, either. If the UFC runs an event in Italy any time soon (which it actually sounds like they might), I could see the UFC signing him up given the lack of big time Italian fighters. Outside of that, I’d say the 32-year-old has had his legacy cemented as one of the first Italians to make some noise at the UFC level.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

I’m not convinced of Stoltzfus getting a pink slip given he was willing to take the fight on short notice—I appreciate the UFC not punishing fighters for stepping up in those situations—but it’s not like luck wasn’t on his side when the UFC kept him around after opening his UFC career with three consecutive losses. He made good on that opportunity, but the 19 second loss to Magomedov makes his employment just as precarious as it was before his win over Dwight Grant. We’ll see….

Count me among those who was surprised to see Khalid Taha get another fight. The UFC was willing to overlook his 1-3 record that also included a no contest that was originally a loss. Nonetheless, he was given as favorable of a fight as he could get, with an opponent making their promotional debut on short notice. Still, Taha couldn’t seal the deal. In fact, this fight went down as his first official KO/TKO loss. Taha’s one-dimensional approach seems as though it has become easy to prepare for now that his opposition know what to expect. It would be a surprise if he were able to find his way back to the organization.

BIGGEST ‘WOW’ MOMENT

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Initially, I thought Magomedov had this locked up with his front kick to the jaw of Stoltzfus. But the sequence in the middle of the second round, when Gane and Tuivasa came ‘thisclose’ to putting away one another, stole it all away. It started when Tuivasa delivered one of his trademark haymakers that floored Gane. Someway, somehow, Gane found a way back to his feet and brutalized Tuivasa’s body to the point he doubled over several times. Though the rest of the fight proved to be full of excitement up until the finish, it was that sequence that kicked things off.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

While not everyone with a French connection emerged victorious (do French Canadians count?), everyone fighting out of France walked out of the event with a win. That list ended up being Gane, Nassourdine Imavov, William Gomis, Fares Ziam, and Benoit Saint-Denis. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as the countrymen of countries the UFC find themselves either entering for the first time or after a long absence tend to find a high degree of success. UFC 134 is a fantastic example of that as phenomenon. That PPV was the UFC’s return to Brazil after 13 years. Of the eight contests that featured a Brazilian vs. Someone from any other country, only one Brazilian lost. Hopefully, the UFC doesn’t rush their return to France, since the effect tends to wear off quickly if the promotion makes frequent trips. Brazil lost that edge roughly a year after the UFC return.

WORST BLOOD FEUD

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

It was expected there would be a hell of a fight between Nasrat Haqparast and John Makdessi. After all, they are former teammates who didn’t exactly separate on the best of terms. Instead, we got a tentative kickboxing match that more closely resembled a sparring session. Haqparast was more willing to let his power show, but even that was only in spurts. Makdessi was content to just touch up Haqparast for the entirety of the fight, never landing anything that appeared to hurt Haqparast.

While knowing an opponent as intimately as these two knew each other can lead to a quick finish if they are each aware of the others’ holes, it can also lead to the type of contests where fighters worry about their opponent knowing them too much. Given the infrequency of finishes from Haqparast and Makdessi, it’s fair to look back in hindsight and say we should’ve expected this.

WORST VICTORY

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

We all know about fighters improving their stock in a loss. It’s only natural that there would be fighters who lessen their stock with a win. It looks like Imavov may fall victim to that phenomenon. Not that Imavov didn’t deserve the win or that he didn’t have some bright moments either. Hell, I’d even say it was ultimately a fun fight. But, for someone in the official UFC rankings, there were a few things that didn’t bode well for Imavov.

For one, he gassed hard down the stretch, leaving him in survival mode. He also didn’t have the control from the outside that’s supposed to be his signature strength. Perhaps a more realistic view should be that Imavov is still only 26 and this was just his fifth UFC contest. Perhaps his stock was elevated a bit too soon. I’d still expect him to be a longtime fixture in the middleweight rankings, but it may be that expectations should be tempered slightly.

BEST RETURN

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Technically, it’s the only return, as Ziam was the only fighter who has re-signed to the organization for this event after a previous stint. But it deserves kudos nonetheless. For many, it was a surprise when the UFC didn’t re-up the young Frenchman after his loss to Terrance McKinney this past winter. After all, many see McKinney as a rising star and Ziam was only 24 at the time of the loss. Regardless, the UFC let him loose, only to bring him back for this event—when more French talent was required. It proved to be a wise move. Ziam turned in what was easily his best performance, showing improved wrestling to go with his sniping outside striking. If the wrestling improvements aren’t a fluke, Ziam looks like he could be major force in a short time.

BONUS NUMBERS

While no one will be surprised Tuivasa had a decent amount of Performance bonuses entering the event—he picked up his fifth in 13 appearances here—I get the feeling many will be surprised to learn it was Gane’s third given his reputation as a boring fighter. Magomedov and Saint-Denis both picked up the first bonuses of their UFC careers, Magomedov doing so in his debut and Saint-Denis in his third appearance.

Imavov, Stoltzfus, and Ziam remain the fighters with the most appearances from this card without a Performance Bonus to date, bringing their total to five showings without an extra $ 50K. Outside of those without bonuses, John Makdessi has officially gone the longest without picking up the extra money, going back to July of 2018, ironically that being the only bonus in his 19-fight UFC career. However, in terms of appearances, Makdessi’s inactivity leaves Jourdain with the most appearances since his last bonus with eight.

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UFC Paris headliner Ciryl Gane is ready for UFC 279.

Ciryl Gane is having a hard time picking against Nate Diaz, but the UFC heavyweight just can’t see a path to victory for the latter against Khamzat Chimaev.

Gane is a huge Diaz fan but thinks Khamzat is a terrible matchup for him at this stage in his career and thinks ‘Borz’ will put in a dominant performance and get the finish at UFC 279.

“It’s gonna be a little bit complicated for Diaz, a little bit because Chimaev is really young, he’s in the rush, he’s really confident, and I think Diaz is more on the end of his career so he’s not exactly the same,” Gane, who knocked out Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris, said in a recent interview (h/t Sportskeeda). “If you told me the Diaz that they had five years ago, six years ago it’s different, but today it’s going to be a little bit hard for Diaz. I think Chimaev is gonna finish him. Yeah, unfortunately, because I love Diaz.”

Diaz, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5, is notoriously difficult to finish. But Khamzat has promised a beatdown of epic proportions at UFC 279, with the undefeated Chechnan claiming that he eats gangsters like Diaz for breakfast.

UFC 279, which features Chimaev vs. Diaz as the main event, will mark the last fight on Diaz’s UFC contract. The highly anticipated PPV is scheduled to take place next Saturday, Sept. 10, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Former UFC and Bellator’s current featherweight champion Cris Cyborg talks about her future in professional fighting.

Former UFC and current Bellator featherweight champion may be close to calling a career, but wants to make the last few years count. Having started to fight professionally in 2005, the Brazilian would like to close her career when she completes 20 years of competing, bet in the Octagon, the ring or the mat.

In a conversation with Ag Fight, Cyborg talked about the possiblity of doing some boxing fights in between her MMA ones. Although she does not know whether or not it would be possible to juggle both sports, the Brazilian is willing to give it a try if she gets the right opportunity.

“It’s hard to say, but I think you have to really focus (in order to transition to boxing). It’s a totally different sport. But sure, if I receive good opportunities, I’ll do my best to see if I can juggle both (boxing and MMA). I want to have superfights for my fans. I believe I’ll be fighting for the next three years. I want to accomplish 20 years of fighting. It goes without saying that I want to have the best fights that my fans to see during that time,”.

With supposedly only three more years left, Cyborg knows she needs to plan her career for the future post-fighting. Though she claims to still be completely focused on competing, Cris also reveals some of the investments and she businesses she plans to conduct once she calls it a day.

“You make plans, but sometimes God has a better plan for you,” Cris said. “I plan to finish my 20 years of fighting, I’m at 17 and I want to get to 20. We don’t know God’s plans, though. We stop fighting so young, so you have to be prepared for another career, other things. I’ve been working towards that, too. There’s Cyborg Nation, there’s the Pink Belt Fitness Camp, I have my investments. I want to do some community work, too. To give opportunities to new athletes, new people. Be a role model for people anywhere I go. That’s what I have in mind, but I leave it in God’s hands.”

In her last outing, Cyborg (26-2-1 NC) defeated Arlene Blencowe via unanimous decision, back in April 2022. The win put the 37-year-old on a six-fight winning streak, with victories over some other notable names in women’s MMA, such as Felicia Spencer and Leslie Smith. The Brazilian’s last loss took place in December 2018. when she got knocked out by Amanda Nunes.

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See what happened at BKFC Thailand 3 on Saturday morning.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returned to Thailand for its first-ever event at CentralWorld Live at 8floor in Bangkok on Saturday.

Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek ventured into bare-knuckle boxing and needed less than two minutes to finish Erkan Varol with brutal body shots in the headliner. Varol was aggressive, pressing forward and finding a home for some right hands. Buakaw was patient, settling in before throwing out some jabs. With his opponent up against the ropes, Buakaw caught Varol with a shot to the body that clearly hurt him. Buakaw saw the reaction and moved in with more shots to the body before Varol fell to the canvas, clutching his side. Great win for Buakaw.

Surasak Sukkhamcha and Pongpisan Chunyong fought for the inaugural BKFC Thailand featherweight championship in the co-headliner. The fight was close enough to warrant an extra round, but Sukkhamcha emerged victorious over Chunyong by majority decision.

Here are the full results and highlights from BKFC Thailand 3:

Main Card results:

Buakaw Banchamek def. Erkan Varol by KO (punches) at 1:50 of Round 1

Surasak Sukkhamcha def. Pongpisan Chunyong by majority decision

Chaloemporn Sawatsuk def. Dominic Ahnee by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 0:41 of Round 3

Steve Banks def. Ahmed Abdelfattah by KO (punch) at 0:53 of Round 1

Jakkaphop Rattanamangsang def. Maseng Sornchai by KO (punches) at 1:55 of Round 3

Mike Vetrila def. Luis Paulo Terra by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-48, 48-47)

Krisana Srisang def. Pipat Mike Chaiporn by KO (punches) at 0:36 of Round 2

Usanakorn Thawinsuwannawang def. Natsuda Yooya by KO (punches) at 1:12 of Round 1

Somchai Ainthida def. Suban Malolpho by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-48, 49-47)

Tai Emery def. Rung-Arun Khunchai by KO (punch) at 1:41 of Round 1

Sadudee Srimueang def. Malinda Amarasinghe by split decision (48-45, 47-48, 48-47)

Kantapon Petsang def. Somphong Satho by KO (punch) at 2:00 of Round 1

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