Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 42: Soto vs. Goodjohn (also known as BKFC 42: Greenville) will be a bare-knuckle fighting event held by Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship on May 12, 2023, at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, United States.
Fight Card
Main Card
Lightweight Tony Soto vs. Tyler Goodjohn
Middleweight Doug Coltrane vs. Blake LaCaze
Bantamweight Keith Richardson vs. Nick Burgos
Strawweight Andy Nguyen vs. Sydney Smith
Featherweight Trevor Loken vs. Brandon Allen
Featherweight Brandon Bushaw vs. Rick Caruso
Welterweight Dustin Pague vs. Wade Johnson
Welterweight Trukon Carson vs. Tim Hester
Featherweight Cole Ferrell vs. Cody Schieve
Preliminary Card
Cruiserweight Jonathan Miller vs. Dustin Long
Featherweight Samuel Samples vs. Glendel Futrell
Lightweight John Barnard vs. Joshua Marer
Background
Friday’s Main Event features a can’t-miss lightweight battle between the undefeated Tony “Loco” Soto (4-0) and former BKFC title challenger Tyler “Tornado” Goodjohn (4-2).
The fast-rising Soto, who represents Wilmington, NC and Bronx, NY, has looked unstoppable in the Squared Circle as he goes for his fourth straight KO against Goodjohn. But Goodjohn, who hails from the United Kingdom, is surely Soto's toughest challenge so far. The first European fighter to compete for a BKFC World Championship, Goodjohn is hungry to prove that he’s still one of BKFC’s best after losses to Luis "Baboon" Palomino, the No. 1-ranked Pound-for-Pound fighter on the roster, and James Lilley, the No. 1 contender in the stacked lightweight division.
Two of the top middleweight prospects in the world of bare knuckle fighting collide in the Co-Main Event as Doug "ColdRed" Coltrane tries to climb to 3-0 with a second KO against the towering Blake LaCaze (1-1, 1 KO). Both fighters are hunting for a statement win that they know could elevate them into the Top 5 rankings of the division.
In the Feature Fight, Keith “The Rockstar” Richardson makes his highly anticipated return to the Squared Circle against the debuting Nick “Nicky No Holdz Barrz” Burgos. Richardson is 1-0 after his Fight-of-the-Night winning debut victory against Justin Scoggins at BKFC 35 in January. Both fighters bring extensive professional MMA experience to this bantamweight showdown; Richardson is 22-11 and Burgos is 11-6.
BKFC 41 features a number of other hotly anticipated fights, including Andy “The CrAsian” Nguyen (2-0) versus the debuting Sydney “Sundance” Smith in the women's strawweight division, a featherweight banger between Brandon Allen (2-1, 1 KO) and Trevor Loken (1-0, 1 KO), plus the return of UFC vet Dustin “The Disciple” Pague (1-1, 1 KO) and the highly anticipated debut of Blue Chip MMA prospect Cole Ferrell, who’s 11-1 with 11 stoppage victories as a pro fighter.
Here are our Top 3 storylines heading into fight night.
Top Lightweights Clash In The Main Event
The unbeaten Tony “Loco” Soto and former BKFC title challenger Tyler “Tornado” Goodjohn lock horns in a can’t-miss lightweight showdown in the Main Event. Soto has been unstoppable in his first four trips to the Squared Circle, and he’s hunting for his fourth straight KO in South Carolina. Goodjohn is doubtless Soto’s toughest task yet. Goodjohn, the first European fighter to compete for a BKFC World Championship, began his BKFC career with four straight wins, like the fast-rising Soto. He’s hungry to prove he can still compete among BKFC’s best lightweights after losses to Luis “Baboon” Palomino, the No. 1-ranked fighter on the Pound-for-Pound rankings, and James Lilley, the No. 1 contender in the stacked lightweight division. A spot in the Top 5 rankings is all but guaranteed for BKFC 42’s Main Event winner.
Fast-Rising Middleweights Meet In The Co-Main
Two of the fully loaded BKFC middleweight division’s top prospects – Doug “ColdRed” Coltran and Blake LaCaze – do battle in Friday’s Co-Main Event. Coltran looks to improve to 3-0 with a second KO, and the 6-foot-6 LaCaze tries to climb to 2-1 with a second straight stoppage victory. A convincing win Friday by either fighter could land them in the BKFC’s Top 5 middleweight rankings.
More MMA Fighters Drop Their Gloves
More and more of MMA’s finest are congregating to the world of bare knuckle fighting, like BKFC 41’s “Platinum” Mike Perry, Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez and “Big” Ben Rothwell. At the same time, we’re seeing scores of top MMA prospects embark on careers under the BKFC banner instead of in the cage. This trend continues at BKFC 42 on Friday. Featherweight Trevor Loken, who was 5-0 in amateur MMA, looks to climb to 2-0 for BKFC after his 40-second KO over UFC vet Marcus Brimage earlier this year. Cole Ferrell, who boasts a pro MMA record of 11-1 with all of his wins by stoppage, makes his Squared Circle debut Friday, and UFC vet Dustin “The Disciple” Pague (1-1) takes aim at his second straight KO victory.
