BKFC Spain recap: Conor McGregor hands out double pay to main event fighters after bloody, brutal war

Conor McGregor made it a red panty night for both fighters competing in the BKFC Spain main event

Franco Tenaglia capped off the bare-knuckle promotion’s first ever event in Spain by capturing the lightweight title in an absolute war with Tony Soto across five rounds but it was the Irish superstar who blessed both men afterwards.

“What we’re going to do for these two gentlemen as well as a bonus is double their purse,” McGregor announced after the fight. “They’re getting double pay. That’s damn straight. Well done gentlemen, you are getting double pay and bonuses. Thank you for your service.”

The massive gesture from BKFC’s newest co-owner came after Tenaglia and Soto battled it out in one of the craziest fights in the history of the promotion.

Defense went flying out of the ring as Tenaglia and Soto just constantly stepped into the pocket and blasted each other with huge combinations. Soto actually dropped Tenaglia badly in the second round with a brutal body shot and it appeared the American fighter might get a stoppage.

Instead, Tenaglia survived the round and then dished out even more punishment of his own as the fight continued. When the fight was over, Tenaglia’s face was busted up and swollen and the same could be said for Soto as the crowd in Marbella gave them a standing ovation.

In the end, the judges scored the fight twice for Tenaglia 47-45 with the third official giving it a 46-46. That was still enough for Tenaglia to get the nod by majority decision as he becomes the new BKFC lightweight champion and he also goes home with a lot more money than he expected.

“I’ve been waiting for this 10 years,” Tenaglia said after his win. “I used to fight in warehouses in the middle of nowhere but look at me now. I’m a world champion.”

In the co-main event, former boxing champion Austin Trout continued his dominant run since joining the BKFC roster as he successfully defended his welterweight title with a shutout performance over Rico Franco.

Trout scored a pair of knockdowns but just couldn’t quite put Franco away as the challenger just kept coming after him despite taking far more damage during the fight. All three judges scored the fight 50-43 in lopsided fashion as Trout moved to 3-0 in BKFC with Saturday serving as his first title defense.

In the third title fight on the card, Dave Mundell continued to run roughshod over the competition as he demolished Danny Christie with a devastating punch in the second round to end his night. Mundell nearly stopped the fight in the first round after he put Christie down early and never allowed him a second to gain any kind of momentum.

The final shot saw Christie crash to the canvas and despite his best effort to get back to his feet, the referee saw enough to stop the contest at :55 seconds into the second round.

Here are the full results for BKFC Spain:

Franco Tenaglia def. Tony Soto via majority decision (46-46, 47-45, 47-45)

Austin Trout def. Ricardo Franco via unanimous decision (50-43 x3)

David Mundell def. Danny Christie via TKO at :55 seconds, R2

Dan Chapman def. Mike Jurik via TKO at 1:26, R1

Felipe da Silva Maia def. James Lilley via TKO at 1:08, R

Hannah Rankin def. Deborah Mellhorn via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 49-46)

Oscar Willis def. Ben Davis via TKO at 1:57, R1

Yunus Batan def. Maxine Bellamy via unanimous decision (48-44 x3)

Nico Gaffie def. Radek Stadler via TKO at 1:04, R2

Arbi Chakaev def. Jose Daniel via TKO at 59 seconds, R1

David Mora def. Fran Suarez via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 2:00, R4