GREAT FALLS — The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship makes its Great Falls debut at the Four Seasons Arena Saturday evening with Joe “Diesel” Riggs and Lorenzo “The Juggernaut” Hunt headlining and vying for the world light heavyweight title but there’s a couple other names on this card that Great Falls might recognize.
Making his BKFC debut is Browning’s Billy Wagner who trains in Great Falls. Wagner is a well-established name in the boxing world having been on the undercards of big boxing promotions, such as Top Rank, in the past. He’ll be fighting fellow first time BKFC fighter Jacob Kreitel where he’ll look to take his past experiences as a pro boxer and bring them into tomorrow’s fight.
“Mentally I guess I’ve been thinking about all my boxing matches, all my tough boxing matches I’ve been through in the past. All my street fights and high school fights and stuff like that come together in this so I’m pretty excited for it.”
Another Great Falls native will be longtime combat sport veteran, Leo Bercier who made his BKFC debut in October when he won by TKO. He’ll be up against first time BKFC fighter Leo Pla in a last minute add only five days ago but for Bercier his goal for tomorrow is pretty simple.
When asked what he was most excited for, Bercier’s response answered honestly:
To be perfectly candid…to knock him out cold render him unconscious. That’s the best win you can have, it’s the best way to win.”
The last local fighter on the card is up and coming Kai Stewart who will be in his second BKFC fight after winning in October. A wrestling state champion at Great Falls CMR, now college wrestler down the street at the University of Providence, Stewart will be up against Daniel Gary in the featherweight division where the energy surrounding the fight will be sure to energize the 21-year old star in the making.
“Pretty pumped to say I’m a bare knuckle boxer but at the end of the day I’m a wrestler but right now there’s no take downs it’s all hits to the face. You got to hit him before he hits you, literally that’s the gameplay for bareknuckle, don’t get hit.”
Other local fighters in tomorrow’s fight include newcomer Braeden Tovey and fellow 1-0 BKFC fighters Louie Lopez and Dallas Davison.
Preliminary fights are scheduled for 6 p.m. with the main event at 7 p.m.
