BKFC 95
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
Who: John Dodson vs. Jamel Herring, several other fights
Streaming: DAZN (subscription service)
It’s been a long time, too long, between bare-knuckle fights for Albuquerque’s John Dodson. It’s not Jamel Herring’s fault.
Even so, Dodson says, it’s Herring who must pay.
“I’m gonna go out there and take his title, and show everyone I’m one of the most dangerous people that’s ever been pissed off,” Dodson said in a phone interview on Tuesday, a day before leaving for Newark, New Jersey — the site of his fight against Cincinnati’s Herring on Saturday for the latter’s BKFC bantamweight title.
“I want to go out there with extreme violence and brutality and show the world what they’re missing out on.”
Bare-knuckle fans have been missing out on Dodson’s entertaining style since March 29, 2024, when he fought to a wild, five-round draw with the Dominican Republic’s Dagoberto Aguero at Tingley Coliseum. By virtue of the draw, Dodson (4-0-1 bare-knuckle, 3-0-1 BKFC) retained his BKFC flyweight title.
Later that year, Dodson defeated Takaki Soya by unanimous decision in a bare-knuckle fight in Saitama, Japan. In May 2025 in Tokyo, he lost to Soya by unanimous decision in an MMA fight. But he hasn’t fought on a BKFC card since the Aguero fight, almost 31 months ago.
Why would the BKFC allow one of its sitting champions to remain idle that long?
Albuquerque’s Ricky Kottenstette, Dodson’s agent, cited three factors: the BKFC’s apparent disenchantment with Albuquerque as a site, uncertainty about the future of the flyweight division, and basic failures to communicate.
The BKFC staged six cards in New Mexico here, five in Albuquerque and one in Rio Rancho, in a span of three years (2022-25). Its first two shows at Tingley Coliseum established attendance records for the company. But those records have been far surpassed since then, and cards staged here in February and June 2025 were not as well attended as those previous.
Kottenstette said the BKFC wanted to renegotiate Dodson’s contract, apparently seeing him as of diminished value because he wouldn’t be headlining cards in Albuquerque.
Meanwhile, Kottenstette said, the fate of the BKFC’s flyweight (125-pound) weight class appears to be in question, though the organization’s website still lists Dodson as its flyweight champion.
Dodson said he didn’t know if he’ll ever defend his flyweight title.
“As for right now,” he said, “my whole focus is to go ahead and destroy (Herring).”
In Herring, Dodson, 42, will face a 40-year-old former world boxing champion who earned his BKFC title with victories over Matt Guymon and Michael Larrimore, both by lopsided unanimous decision. Like Dodson, he’s a southpaw.
Bare-knuckle fighting is a form of boxing, and Dodson’s background is in MMA. Yet, Dodson believes his MMA background gives him an advantage.
“His boxing mentality and, actually, all his boxing habits become a large amount of cues to go in and pick him apart,” Dodson said. “He hasn’t been in with a well-trained martial artist like myself, and I don’t know how well he’s trained in that realm of martial arts.”
Saturday’s fight is the first of three for Dodson as per a new contract with the BKFC. But, he said, regarding the long hiatus, all is not forgiven.
In July 2025, the BKFC announced that it would bestow shares in the company on its champions and other fighters with 10 or more BKFC fights to their credit. Dodson and Las Cruces’ Austin Trout both held title belts.
At the same time, it was announced that Andrew Strode and Gee Perez would fight that night for the interim flyweight title. As the sitting champion, Dodson wasn’t pleased.
Strode defeated Perez that night, but perhaps because the outcome was determined because of a cut suffered by Perez, no Strode-Dodson fight was booked. Strode and Perez fought again last month, Strode winning by third-round TKO.
Meanwhile, Dodson sat.
“I’m extremely pissed off,” he said, “because of the fact that there’s no reason for me to be on hiatus for this long and for no excuse.”
So, yes, Jamel Herring, it’s an angry John Dodson you’ll be facing on Saturday.
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