Miami gets a ton of love from the combat sports world in the month of March this year and the BKFC puts on a stacked fight night card on the 15th.
Not to be confused with a prospects event, this Miami fight night features more established BKFC talent and after eight fights on the night, all roads lead to Howard Davis vs Sean Wilson. These are two gritty and game lightweights that are guaranteed to put on a hell of a show for the fans in attendance and around the world. We head out to the Vivo! Dolphin Mall (not the mall the giant alien holograms were at) for a showdown! Let's have a look at these matchups, hopefully fatten our wallets up and get some momentum heading into at least seven consecutive weeks of BKFC action!
Howard Davis (5-2-1) is the last to make the walk this evening. Usually he fights at featherweight, a class below lightweight and this should be a great fit for him. At 6'2" he towers over most 145ers and 155ers alike, and not draining himself is going to allow him to take more punishment. Davis hasn't shown a weak chin in the past with only one loss coming by doctor stoppage and another by decision but Wilson can crack and may be the hardest puncher he's faced.
Sean Wilson (3-1-0) has over 70 pro MMA fights under his belt. That's not a typo, that's seven zero fights with a record of 40-31-1 and he's also got four BK fights under his belt fighting solid competition. His only BKFC loss was delivered by Kevin Croom who has a night and day different style than HD. Wilson is a gritty fight veteran who seems to love dragging fights out of his opponents and loves to go punch for punch and see who drops first - it's usually not him.
Paths to Victory
First off, I would expect this fight to go the distance. Barring a nasty cut or an early knockout, both fighters are more durable than your Grandma's cast iron skillet and it's hard to imagine either fighter getting put out. Wilson's biggest weapon is his nasty overhand right but he has knocked out plenty of dudes with both hands. In his MMA career, Wilson was primarily a submission specialist so I always like to think those guys fight with a pressure heavy style from in close. In Wilson's case this is 100% true and being 6" shorter and giving up a massive reach disadvantage of 10", he will have to risk it all to get in close to HD. Davis will obviously like to keep this at range and said himself he needs to use his jab in excess on March 15. It's good to hear him say that honestly and a lot of this fight will come down to Davis. I want to see him come in and be respectful of Wilson which is not typical of the young up and comer. He thought he was better than Kai Stewart and gave him zero respect leading up to and during their featherweight title matchup at BKFC 56 and it cost him the title. Another good thing to hear HD say is that he's going to respect Wilson so if you're on the side of the Miami local, you'll hope he learned his lesson. All Wilson needs to do here is copy Kai Stewart's performance against HD and paste it into this fight, rinsing and repeating clinch attacks which he hasn't been known to do in the BKFC. Last point here is with HD's extra 10 pounds, how hard is he training to cut weight? Did he go lighter on cardio? Did he allow himself to eat more? Great matchmaking here by Nate Shook and the BKFC matchmakers. If Wilson is a 3-1 dog you have to jump on him but I see Davis having more success, especially early. As the fight goes deeper the tide should turn to P-Town but I see a five-round war 48-47 in favor of HD.
Rosalinda Rodriguez (1-0-0) vs Monica Franco (1-0-0)
Women's Flyweight Co-Main Event
Both women here are extremely tough and busy strikers. Rosalinda comes from the boxing world where she has had an impressive run at 13-0. Franco comes over from MMA and holds a 2-1 record professionally but has extensive amateur experience with an upside down record of 3-8. Neither woman has been knocked out but to be honest, neither has much power even speaking for 125 pound ladies. Rodriguez will be the very technical striker here and Franco will look to brawl. I feel the straight shots are going to add up for Rodriguez while Franco's looping shots may struggle to find home on the tricky boxer. Rodriguez landed north of 64% of her 307 strikes thrown in her debut performance while Franco landed 46% of 165 strikes in hers. Give me the defense, tight striking and slick footwork of Rodriguez to outperform the very tough Hawaiian in Franco. Fight goes distance 90% of the time.
Joshua Alvarez vs Brandon Meyer
Welterweight Bout
At first glance, you're going to think Joshua Alvarez or ‘Famez' as he's more well known, is a lock. He sits at 4-3-0 and he's taking on the 1-1-0 Brandon Meyer who is coming off of a decision loss. That loss of Meyer's comes from half of your main event this evening in Sean Wilson. Wilson more than doubled Meyer's strikes there and that could be a criticism of Meyer, that he's low volume. The problem for Famez is that he is also low volume - extremely low. It's not uncommon for him to be out-thrown by 300%. And since we are focusing on the negatives in this matchup, Alvarez has not defeated anyone with a win in the BKFC despite the deeper record on paper. I have a feeling this line is going to be way wider than it should be in favor of Famez and no one can hate on you for taking the dog shot here. One major advantage Famez has here is absolute one punch knockout power. If this makes it to round two, it has a high likelihood of going the distance.
Eduardo Concepcion vs Brian Jackson
Light Heavyweight Bout
We have another competitive matchup here between two tough and gritty dudes that also share a high level BKFC opponent. In Brian Jackson's case he was welcomed back to combat sports after a 10 year layoff by middleweight title challenger, Doug Coltrane who knocked him out in the second round. When Concepcion faced Coltrane, they went the distance and went blow for blow, landing the exact same amount of strikes at 37. Despite having only two fights, that's a great look for Concepcion. I think this is another tough matchup for Jackson. His opponent has cleaner and more often stance switches, great head movement and defense along with quick hands. Concepcion also possesses what looks like a greater will to find a win, at least from the outside looking in. I will say, if Jackson can turn the volume up out the gate and come in hot, he can rock Concepcion who will look to pressure far more in rounds three to five if past performances can hint to us his approach on March 15.
Markus Suarez vs Drew Nolan
Light Heavyweight Bout
This fight happened back at the BKFC's first ever Prospect Series event held in Miami in August of 2023. Suarez was winning the fight about 60% of the time but he was allowing himself to be pushed back by Nolan far too much. He looked timid and maybe that's to be expected in your first ever BKFC fight but it's not something you like to see if you're putting money down. Nolan has more fight experience but looking into his MMA record, he seems like a guy that just loves to fight and doesn't put too much stock into winning. Nolan ended up with the W after a doctor stoppage due to a bad cut on Suarez's eye. He looks to have a lot of scar tissue especially over that right eye so that's something to watch out for. Scar tissue opens up very easily when hit and the BKFC doctors have a very low tolerance for cuts. This is as close to a "no bet" fight as we will have this evening and with so many opportunities on the card, your money is safer in a more confident pick.
Rohan Prado vs Raymond Pell
Lightweight Bout
Both of these fighters are coming at this bout from very different spots in their careers. This is Prado's very first pro appearance, but he toes the line with 3 amateur boxing matches under his belt standing at 2-1-0. He's also never been knocked out but hasn't knocked anyone out either. Raymond Pell has much more experience but his record is a little rough on paper. That doesn't mean this fight is going to be bad and actually I feel the opposite is true, this should be a great matchup! Pell has a bare-knuckle decision win feather in his cap, so we are going to see two guys who can go the distance and survive some violence. These guys are going to throw down and I actually think we are going to see a finish. The books will likely favor Pell and I think a shot on the dog is worth it here especially if the line is wide.
Wayna Reid vs Jim Pulgar
Lightweight Bout
Jim Pulgar has never won a professional fight and I think the trend continues against an up and coming prospect in Wayna Reid. Egg on my face if I'm wrong but this seems fairly straight forward. Reid fought Tony Soto in his debut performance and even though he lost that fight, it was by doctor stoppage and it was more competitive than the result will tell you. We don't need to overthink this, Reid should be favored and he should be safe as a potential parlay piece. Everyonce in a while, the public can spot a prospect that any given organization wants to build and Wayna Reid appears to check all of the boxes to fill that role. If Pulgar comes out here and causes what will likely be an upset, I will be surprised. This should be an entertaining fight!
Dameko Labon vs Jorge Bargallo
Bantamweight Bout
Dameko Labon Debuted against a fighter with no wins in the BKFC to date, but he beat him in dominant fashion as he should have if we hope to see him rise in the organization. Labon is taking on a striker who needs some work on his defense in Bargallo but he should have enough in him to make this competitive. It's hard to take a side here with two pressure heavy strikers and I think Dameko will be favored but he shouldn't be overly. I would actually take the dog money on Bargallo who has more experience if and only if the number was as wide as +250 or higher. At 30 years old, he's not going to be outclassed and if he's somehow favored, that just reaffirms my thoughts that he's a real threat here.This should be a competitive fight but Labon's precise striking should give him the edge. He has a pinpoint jab and a solid one-two with some night-ending power in his right hand.
Julio Perez vs Kory Moegenburg
Cruiserweight Bout
From my research, this is Juilo Perez's combat sports debut. If he does have fight experience, it's very low level because he's not known by the fight record sites like Tapology and BoxRec. His opponent on the other hand is a 3-7-0 professional mixed martial artist with LFA experience and an active schedule. Kory Moegenburg already has an MMA fight under his belt this year within the LFA which he did lose but it was by submission in round one so he didn't take a concerning amount of damage for a two month turnaround. It may be square, but because there is no solid info on Julio Perez, the side should be Moegenburg but this should be a "stay away" spot unless you have some insider info on either fighter. Perez is the wildcard of the night.
Written by Ryan Dean*Fight card subject to change
