Taylor “Killa Bee” Starling is getting her second shot at BKFC gold and this time in the weight class she belongs in.
On August 3rd, headlining BKFC 63, Taylor Starling (4-2) will take on one of the faces of bare knuckle; Strawweight champion Britain Hart (8-3) in a fight that has been years in the making.
They have trained together a couple times in the past but according to Starling those sessions got pretty competitive and might’ve been the roots for their rivalry. Hart has also allegedly accused Killa Bee for taking PED’s and even though there has been no proof and Starling obviously dismisses those allegations she does take it as a bit of a compliment, suggesting her sting feels unnatural. An attribute that could be the difference in this fight.
She got the nickname Killa Bee from a sparring session when she was in the ring with a 200-lb. heavyweight female fighter. Every time the girl would land one punch on Taylor, she would fire back with eight of her own and the first thing that came to her opponent’s mind was comparing it to being stung by bees.
In her debut, she couldn’t have made a better first impression. On the undercard of the first ever Knucklemania, Starling took on Charisa Sigala and they put on a show. It was fireworks right from the start. Killa Bee stung in the first, dropping Sigala with a straight right hand. In fact, the round was so great the fighters and the referee didn’t even hear the bell sound for the end. Killa Bee would sting once more in the second and then cruised to a unanimous decision win and the clash earned fight of the night honours. This was her announcement that she was here to stay.
She would win two more fights before earning her first world title shot against Christine Ferea, the best female bare knuckler on the planet and maybe ever. Unfortunately for Starling, she would also taste defeat for the first time. She tried to bounce back in her next fight by fighting another world-class talent in the form of Jade Masson-Wong, who is now the number one flyweight contender and is fighting Ferea on September 6th for the title. Starling went the distance but was on the wrong side of the scorecards. The common denominator in her only two losses was the weight.
After the Ferea fight, BKFC introduced a new weight class, Strawweight. This would be at 115, 10-lbs. below the 125-lb. Flyweight limit that Starling was fighting at. After the Masson-Wong fight - at 125 - , despite her putting up a valiant effort, Killa Bee knew it was time to test herself at 115.
She came back at the beginning of 2024 and took on a former MMA opponent of hers in the form of Jenny Savage. But this time at her weight class, 115. And in case there was any doubt, her performance backed up the fact that strawweight is the division she needs to be in. She dominated Savage to a unanimous decision win, earning her this title shot against Hart.
Killa Bee can sting with the best of them at any weight class. But it is clear that her style of aggression and a solid 1-2 is best suited for 115. Plus, by being forced to cut the extra 10-lbs. It should also keep her more disciplined in camp which would turn out an even better Starling on fight night. The kind of discipline it takes to become a world champion. What or should I say who has also helped her BKFC career get to this point is learning alongside former bantamweight champion Keith Richardson. They have been together since the beginning of both of their BKFC careers.
It’s clear she isn’t just doing this for herself either. Besides just the team around her, she is a mother to two boys and wants them to be able to call their mom a world champion. Taylor Starling will have her chance to accomplish just that on August 3rd against Britain Hart for the Strawweight championship.
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