The self-proclaimed future of combat sports making waves in BKFC.
(Photo courtesy: BKFC)
On June 21st, 2024, one of BKFC’s biggest stars heads to Hollywood, Florida, USA - roughly 20 miles away from where he grew up in Miami - to take on the featherweight champion Kai Stewart (5-0, 2 KO’s) at BKFC 62 in the main event. His name is Bryan “El Gallo'' Duran and he is off to the best start in BKFC history, 6-0, 6 KO’s. To make that abundantly clear, that has never been done before in company history. El Gallo believes that’s all this is, just the start.
Duran was born in Matanzas, Cuba, but at nine years old, without his cousin's knowledge, he followed them to a raft that was meant to escape the country and head to the United States. Once they got there and saw Duran, they decided they couldn’t turn him away because it was already too late. So, Duran got on the raft, with his mother still in Cuba, not having any idea this was happening. His father was already in the States, he left Duran when he was one, so, when they successfully arrived in Miami, Florida, one of the people on the raft contacted his dad and luckily for them he was also living there at the time. His father was happy to see him again for the first time in years, invited him to live with him, and Duran obliged. He finally called his mother to let her know he was safe and she was relieved. Thus began a new life for Duran.
He was introduced to his father’s new family that included more kids and a stepmom, who he didn’t get along with. The same was the case when Duran went to school because at this time he still had trouble speaking english. That led to bullying and eventually fights. Altercations that Duran would actually come out on the better end of, gaining some respect from his peers. With that, he saw fighting as his only solution to earning respect so this would happen often. This is where the nickname “El Gallo” comes from. Translated from Spanish to English, it means rooster. So, in this case, a nod to cock-fighting.
As one would probably expect, this doesn’t lead to many good things, he got involved with some gangs and dropped out of school in grade 9. It wasn’t until he had his first child at 18, that he realized he needed to change his life for the better. But getting out of that situation is easier said than done. It got to the point where he needed to take his family, that was now a partner, two sons and a daughter, away from Miami. He took them to Las Vegas and on the way there, he signed up for Uber Eats to be a delivery driver. That was working well until one day he was out on a delivery and got into a car accident. Fortunately everyone was ok, but to Duran that felt like a sign to go back to Miami, where his mother and father still resided. This wasn’t to go back to the problematic life he was living. It was to go back to where he started, but do it right this time.
(Photo courtesy: BKFC)
Of course, it wasn’t that easy. He started to have problems with his partner and found himself with another girl. She was a gym rat, as some would say, and that got Duran hooked on training. During one of their sessions, he saw she had some boxing gloves in her car, so he put them on and tried them out. Given his past, he enjoyed it and made a joke about imagining his life as a professional fighter. Not too long after that, he was hanging out with his friends and they said “when you think about it, you’ve never lost a fight.” That was the moment Duran realized maybe that joke could be something serious.
He knew that his best combat route was bare knuckle and he knew a coach that was already working in that scene. So, he went to him in October of 2021 and seven months later Duran was making his professional combat sports debut. Actually taking it even further, making his organized, amateur or professional, combat sports debut, on the most popular bare knuckle promotion in the world, BKFC.
That was April 21st, 2022. He was originally lined up to be the first fight of the night but because of his fan base in Miami and the card taking place in Fort Lauderdale, he sold a bunch of tickets and got moved up higher on the card. That made him extra nervous. Add that in with that fact he was cutting weight for the first time, he was getting overwhelmed. So, he cut communication with his new partner, who he was now in a relationship with, three days before the fight.
Duran lived up to the hype and stopped his opponent in the second round. But this didn’t convince him yet that this was his path to success. He ended up breaking up with his girlfriend the day after the fight and got back with the mother of his children. He still credits her for putting him on the right track, though. Two months later he was back in the ring for BKFC 26, in Hollywood, Florida, and stopped his challenger in just one minute and 15 seconds. That’s when he knew that this is where he belonged.
The proof was in the pudding. Six months later, KO number three came. Another six months, KO number four. Two months later? KO number five. And then it was time for his big step up. On February 2nd, 2024, Duran was taking on former featherweight title challenger and number one contender, Louie Lopez. A man who went all five rounds with Kai Stewart for the inaugural championship. If “El Gallo” wanted the shot at the title like he had been calling for, he needed to make a statement here. And that’s exactly what he did, stopping Lopez with a brutal overhand right in round four, for KO number six.
(Photo courtesy: BKFC)
He is being dubbed as the “Bare Knuckle King of Miami”, he claims he is the future face of this company, he wants to retire with a 100% knockout ratio, and he wants to win world titles across multiple divisions.
He’s off to a great start but the real test comes on June 21st, against the BKFC Featherweight Champion Kai Stewart.
Comments