BKFC's Bantamweight champion is back and so are Bare Knuckle Nation's predictions.
Alberto Blas (5-0, 5 KO) will make the first defense of his bantamweight title against the undefeated Ryan Reber (6-0, 3 KO) tomorrow night. Two different careers and two contrasting styles make this an interesting matchup. Blas has run rampant through the bantamweight division, surging through the rankings before smashing former champion Keith Richardson, taking his world title as a result. After five bare knuckle fights he's yet to see the second round. In fact, he has barely seen the second minute of a fight.
Reber on the other hand has slowly been building one of the longest active win streaks in all of bare knuckle, sitting at 6-0. This hasn't proven to be the case every time, but having more experience in this game, matters more often than not. That is certainly in favour of Reber.
So, here we go with our BKFC 66 main event predictions.
Adam Hunt - Blas KO 1
Reber is very talented and very technical, but he’s a slow starter. Blas jumps on you from the get-go. If he catches Reber sleeping, metaphorically, he will be sleeping, literally, very quickly. While I do think Reber will get to the 73rd second (something nobody has done in bare knuckle against Blas) his slow start and his habit of getting hit, make this a tough matchup for him.
Cole Whiston - Blas KO 2
Despite Reber possibly being the best opponent Blas has ever faced, Reber would need to adopt an entirely new game plan than previous fights to beat Blas. He doesn't hit hard enough to keep Blas at bay and that may be the only way to beat a guy like him. Hence, the five first-round finishes. I think Reber can survive longer than others but not much longer.
Jag Kang - Blas KO
Bare knuckle seems like Alberto Blas' world and we're just merely spectators to the chaos. Although I believe Ryan Reber is as game as they come, and I expect him to last the longest against Blas, it'll be more of the same from "El Indio". The power is simply too much.
Corey Erdman - Blas KO 1
From the looks of it, Blas is just on a different level entirely relative to his field of competition and I doubt that we've seen the full extent of his abilities either. Keep in mind, this is a world-class wrestler who's also knocking people senseless inside a minute. It's easy to get excited about a string of first-round knockouts obviously, but the way Blas has done it has been so violent and captivating. It does make you question who can last against this guy? Reber is going to be the next one to try, but I'm not sure he can withstand Blas' onslaught. It doesn't mean Reber isn't one of the best in the world in his division, but elite fighters are elite for a reason.
As for the co-main event, world title challenger Howard Davis (6-2-1, 5 KO) takes on the undefeated contender James Brown (3-0, 2 KO). "HD's" two losses came against Louie Lopez, in a number one contender's fight, and Kai Stewart, in a championship, both at featherweight. The important thing to note in this one is it's at lightweight. Maybe this is the right division for Davis to finally get over the hump. But Brown also has experience at both weights and no one has had a good time with him in the squared circle.
Here are our co-main predictions.
Adam Hunt - Davis UD
Davis came up short in his first world title bid late last year. Having already bounced back with a win over Sean Wilson, Davis now seems to have his sights set on the lightweight title. The renewed Davis we saw in March will carry over into this contest with James Brown and I think with a win here it won’t be long before we see Davis fight for another world title.
Cole Whiston - Davis KO 3
Davis may not be able to get over the championship hump, yet (He's still only 29). But Banks hasn't been in there with the guys that Davis has. "HD" has only lost at the top level and Banks hasn't proven he is that to this point.
Jag Kang - Davis KO
I think Davis will continue on the winning trajectory as his experience trumps that of his opponent. In addition, his championship window hasn't closed, yet. Expect a performance worthy of title implications.
Corey Erdman - Davis UD
Generally speaking, I would go with the fresher man in matchups like this. Bare knuckle careers, at least to this point, aren't built to last a long time, and Howard Davis has a lot of wear on his tires. However, he's been extremely busy in the Team Combat League in gloved boxing, working exclusively on his striking, and even though he's come up short in his five appearances, he's spent time in the ring with legitimate world-class boxers like Steve Cunningham. My head is picking Brown, but something in my gut says we see a really sharp version of Davis in this fight and he pulls it off.
Photo Courtesy: BKFC
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