Joe Lister ‘absolutely loved’ his BKFC debut, but admitted the sport is brutal and then some.
The 20-year-old former boxer made his debut with Conor McGregor’s promotion on Saturday in Newcastle, stopping John Ferguson in the first round.
Despite suffering a grotesque cut to his eye early on, Lister displayed the elite amateur boxing skills that earned him a national title to put on a standout performance of the night.
McGregor, whose influence on the combat sports scene has skyrocketed the bare knuckle league into a new light in the last year, had supportive words for Lister following his remarkable performance.
“For real! Joe Lister,” he said on X, reacting to the young man’s performance at BKFC Newcastle.
Lister has since responded, admitting that although it was tough to enter the four-roped ring, he certainly didn’t feel out of place.
“It was f****** beautiful, I absolutely loved it,” he told talkSPORT.com.
“I am made for this type of event. But I tell you what, it is different in there too.
“This is brutal… but again, I am made for this!”
Lister was involved in the Discovery Squad for the official England amateur boxing program just two years ago.
The 20-year-old faced BKFC veteran Ferguson, who entered the fight with a 3-3 combat record.
But it didn’t take long for fans to identify where the better skill set lay, as just moments into the first round, Lister proved he was levels above his older countryman.
He landed several hooks to the body which forced Ferguson to cover up, before the latter eventually fell to the canvas and the fight was waved off.
The card in Newcastle also made history as the Comby brothers, Brandon and Alan, fought on the same BKFC card for the first time.
Meanwhile, Jan Sulecki took centre stage after his fight to propose to his partner in the crowd, giving the fans something completely different to cheer about.
“After another sell-out show in Newcastle, firstly we want to thank all the fighters for putting on a brilliant night, and the fans for providing an incredible atmosphere,” BKFC’s UK COO Marc Ramsden said.
“Our plan is to keep going from strength to strength and sell out bigger arenas for the fans across the whole of the UK.
“We are looking forward to our next big show in Manchester on March 29th.”
In the main event at Walker Activity Dome on Saturday night, Karl Thompson claimed the British Cruiserweight belt in an exciting first-round stoppage win over Rob Boardman.
Despite getting put down himself at the start of the first round, Thompson bounced back by stopping Boardman within two minutes, proving that he is a real force within the division.
In the co-main event, local favourite Pic Jardine drew the loudest cheer of the night as he entered the ring – and he did not disappoint the North East crowd.
He delivered a dominant unanimous decision win over Tony Shields, with his fitness levels proving too much for his opponent.
The contest was scored 49-46 by two judges, while the third had it as a 50-45 shutout for the middleweight fighter.
BKFC hosted their biggest event to date in January, as ex-UFC fighters Jeremy Stephens and Eddie Alvarez battled it out in a thrilling main event at KnuckleMania V.
After the event, McGregor squared up to Stephens while telling BKFC founder David Feldman to ‘make a date’ for a fight between the pair.
McGregor has not fought in his primary sport, MMA, since breaking his leg in a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier back in 2021.