By Canadian Press

One punch, two seconds. Bare-knuckle fighter Justin Watson wastes no time for the win

Dec 6, 2024 | 8:19 PM

DULUTH — American featherweight Justin Watson scored a two-second knockout in a bare-knuckle bout Friday, flooring Cole Ferrell with one punch at BKFC 69.

The opening bell rang, Watson took one step forward and delivered a piston-like right to the forehead that sent Ferrell face first to the canvas, prompting the referee to immediately step in to stop the bout. Watson looked on, making a throat-slashing gesture before walking away.

A wobbly Ferrell protested when he finally got back to his feet at Gas South Arena.

BKFC founder and president David Feldman, in a video posted by the promotion, displayed a stopwatch showing 2.9 seconds.

“Two-point-nine seconds. Fastest knockout in combat sorts,” he said. “Unbelievable.”

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BKFC said the promotion’s previous KO record was three seconds, set by Ulysses Diaz when he stopped Donelei Benedetto at BKFC 14 in 2020.

Watson, a 37-year-old from China Grove, N.C., had lost his two previous BKFC bouts and came into Friday’s bout as a plus-600 betting underdog. The 32-year-old Ferrell, an Atlanta native with an 11-2 record in mixed martial arts, slipped to 1-1 in the BKFC.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship bouts are contested in a ring with five two-minute rounds. Fighters are permitted to wrap and tape the wrist, thumb and mid-hand, but no gauze or tape can be within 2.5 centimetres of the knuckles. Punches are the only strike allowed.

Without the benefit of gloves, cuts are common. And they can lead to doctor-mandated stoppages, which prevent the losing fighter from taking more damage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press