Britain Hart beats Taylor Starling by unanimous decision to retain her title.
Here is the official press release.
Sturgis, SD (Aug. 3, 2024) Britain Hart successfully defended her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) World Women’s Strawweight Championship for the third time Saturday night with a unanimous decision over Taylor “Killa Bee” Starling in the main event of BKFC-63 at the sold-out Buffalo Chip Campground at the 84th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD.
All the action, as always, streamed LIVE worldwide on The BKFC App.
Two judges scored Saturday’s main event 48-47 while one had it 49-46, all in favor of the Danville, VA fighter, who is now 9-3 under the BKFC banner. With the win, she becomes the all-time leader in victories and overall appearances amongst female fighters. She is now tied with former opponent Christine “Misfit” Ferea for most successful title defenses for female fighters in BKFC history.
“I told you I’m the baddest female to do it. Shoutout to all badass women; that’s why I’m here today. I want to show that we can still kick (expletive) and look good doing it,” Starling told the jam-packed Buffalo Chip Campground.
Starling, a former BKFC Women’s World Flyweight Championship challenger who represents Rock Hill, SC, is now 4-3 in her BKFC career.
Combat sports icon Conor “The Notorious” McGregor, a part owner of BKFC, was in attendance at BKFC 63.
“What's more badass than bare knuckle and American rock and roll? Nothing, baby – that's what,” McGregor told the roaring crowd. “Thank you all so much for your support. I hope you're having a great night. Take off your gloves and fight; there's nothing like bare knuckle.”
Also, in attendance Saturday night were undefeated BKFC Featherweight World Champion “King” Kai Stewart and undefeated BKFC heavyweight contender “Big Ben Rothwell, among many other combat sports stars.
In the BKFC-63 co-main event, Sam "Hillbilly Hammer" Shewmaker evened the score with Josh "The Hammer" Burns in their highly anticipated rematch in the heavyweight division.
Shewmaker earned the hard-fought, unanimous decision over Burns, who previously defeated Shewmaker via 19-second knockout at BKFC-21. All three judges scored it 49-45 in favor of the Gravois Mills, MO product, who is now 5-4-1 in the squared circle. Burns, who represents Detroit, is now 6-9 in his bare-knuckle career.
The # 2 contender in the stacked BKFC light-heavyweight division, Josh "D-Day" Dyer, needed just 46 seconds to knock out the previously unbeaten William “Wild Bill” Albrecht in the BKFC-63 feature fight. Dyer, who calls Sioux Falls, SD home, sent Albrecht to the canvas twice. The former BKFC Light-Heavyweight World Title challenger is now 3-2, 2 NC, while Albrecht’s record evens at
1-1.
"Defiant" Bryant Acheson improved to 2-0 in his blossoming BKFC career with a one-sided, unanimous decision over Joseph "Dark Knight" Creer in the cruiserweight division. The judges scored it 49-44, 50-43, 49-44, all for the fast-rising Billings, MT fighter. Creer, a product of Columbus, GA, is now 2-2.
Roberto "El Gallo Negro" Armas spoiled the highly anticipated return of fan-favorite Jack “Shady” Grady in their action-packed bantamweight matchup. The San Benito, TX product Armas dropped the Buffalo, NY fighter Grady six times before their bout was called a halt in the third round. Time of the stoppage was 1:03 of the third stanza. Armas evened his BKFC record to 3-3 with the victory. In his first bout since battling BKFC World Bantamweight Championship challenger “Royal” Ryan Reber at BKFC-32, Grady moves to 1-3 in bare knuckle action.
The # 3 contender in the stacked BKFC heavyweight division, Josh "Stay Down" Watson, smashed his way to 3-1 with a third straight stoppage victory over Reuben “Bam” Roundstone. Watson, who hails from Las Vegas, sent Roundstone to the canvas four times en route to the stoppage win. Time of the stoppage was 1:42 in the opening round. Roundstone, a product of Northern Cheyenne Nation, is now 0-2 under the BKFC banner.
Chillicothe, OH newcomer Brandon "Stronghold" Conley made a major statement in his BKFC debut, dropping DJ “Big Red” Tice Jr. five times en route to the third-round knockout stoppage in their cruiserweight matchup. Time of the stoppage was 1:31 of round three. Tice, who represents Plant City, FL, moves to 0-2 in his BKFC career.
In the historic 1,000th bout under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promotional banner, Zach "The Shark Attack" Calmus scored his fourth straight stoppage victory with a first-round knockout over Ryan "The Zombie Cowboy" Shough in heavyweight action. Calmus dropped Shough twice before their bout was stopped with two seconds left in the opening round. The Gloucester, MA product is now 5-2. Shough, who hails from Bellefontaine, OH, moves to 1-3.
In the first bout of the night, Timmy Mason needed only 17 seconds to put Gabriel "The Warrior of God" Freyre away by knockout in their featherweight matchup. The Anaconda, MT fighter is now
1-1 under the BKFC banner, while the Huntington, WV product Freyre moves to 0-2 in his BKFC bouts.
BKFC 63 results: Hart vs. Starling
Britain Hart def. Taylor Starling via Unanimous Decision (48-47x2, 4946)
For BKFC World Women’s Strawweight Title
Sam Shewmaker def. Josh Burns via Unanimous Decision (49-45x3)
Josh Dyer def. William Albrecht via KO in Round 1 (0:46)
Bryant Acheson def. Joseph Creer via Unanimous Decision (49-44x2, 50-43)
Robert Armas def. Jack Grady via TKO in Round 3 (1:03)
Josh Watson def. Reuben Roundstone via TKO in Round 1 (1:42)
Brandon Conley def. DJ Tice Jr. via KO in Round 3 (1:31)
Zach Calmus def. Ryan Shough via KO in Round 1(1:58)
Timmy Mason def. Gabriel Freyre via KO in Round 1 (0:17)
Photo courtesy: BKFC
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