BKFC 76 fight week is here! Saturday night, seven days removed from another BKFC Fight Night at Mohegan Sun Arena, the promotion heads to the state of Texas, specifically Fort Worth, for the first card on its summer schedule. Saturday’s card marks the first-ever visit by BKFC to the Lone Star State.
As the song lyric goes: “The stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas.” David Feldman’s promotion is bringing out the big guns for the first show of the summer on the first full night of the summer.
Live coverage of BKFC 76 from Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena is seen on DAZN throughout the world. Action kicks off with the countdown show at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT on the BKFC app before moving onto the fights themselves an hour later. Barring any late adjustments to the bout order, the final version of the show features a slate of 13 fights.
BKFC 76 Main Event: BKFC Interim Lightweight Championship: No. 1 Contender Tony Soto vs. Ben Bonner
At the top of the bill on BKFC 76, you’ll be seeing an interim lightweight championship fight matching No. 1 Tony Soto (6-1 BKFC) against Ben Bonner (3-1 BKFC,) who will be traveling to Texas on short notice after champion Franco Tenaglia (4-1 BKFC) couldn’t secure a visa to get into the United States to fight Soto. All fights on BKFC 76’s main card will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at two minutes per round, main event included.
Top-ranked Tony Soto enters the main event of the evening having posted a record of 3-2 over the course of his last five fights. Last time out, he tasted defeat after five rounds by way of majority decision against Franco Tenaglia in October of 2024 during the first DAZN BKFC event in Marbella, Spain.
Soto hasn’t had a sustained winning streak in BKFC since he won four fights in a row from July of 2021 to January of 2023 to begin his tenure under the promotional banner. It goes without saying that the BKFC 76 main event is the biggest fight to-date in his career. How will he fare with these high stakes?
Meanwhile, Ben Bonner enters the ring with a 3-1 record since joining the BKFC active roster in early 2023. At the present time, he’s won two fights in succession. Most recently, he scored a first-round knockout of Lewis Keen (4-1 BKFC) in November of last year from Milton Keynes, England.
BKFC 76’s main event on Saturday night will mark Bonner’s first bare-knuckle fight in the United States of America, having fought exclusively in the United Kingdom beforehand. What can he do on American soil in a short-notice bout? Tune in and find out.
BKFC 76 Co-Main Event: Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Copeland
Immediately beforehand, the co-main event of BKFC 76 sees action take place in the heavyweight division when UFC alumnus Andrei Arlovski (BKFC promotional debut) knuckles up with Josh Copeland (2-1 BKFC), himself an alum of both the UFC and the PFL.
Arlovski will be making the walk for his initial BKFC appearance with a record of 1-4 in his last five fights. Back in March of this year, he returned to the win column with a second-round TKO by way of doctor’s stoppage from a cut versus Terrance Hodges during the co-main event of DBX 1 from Miami.
Copeland wasn’t Andrei Arlovski’s initial opponent for BKFC 76. At first, Arlovski was scheduled to face off against Geronimo dos Santos for Saturday’s card, but the latter fighter had to withdraw from the contest ahead of the show.
Arlovski gets a fresh start on Saturday at BKFC 76. Can he win his second fight in a row?
Across the way, Josh Copeland heads to Fort Worth with a 2-3 record in his last five fights dating back to 2018. He hasn’t fought since September of 2023 when he bested Steve Herelius (1-2 BKFC) with a third-round knockout.
With almost two years away from competition, the question of ring rust has reared its ugly head for the 42-year old Josh Copeland. Only time will tell if he’s able to stay in the win column this weekend.
BKFC 76 Featured Fight: Jessica Eye vs. Mariya Agapova
Also on BKFC 76, you’re going to be treated to the night’s featured bout at women’s flyweight between a pair of UFC alumnae. Jessica Eye (BKFC promotional debut) will meet up with Mariya Agapova (BKFC promotional debut.)
“Evil” has posted a record of 1-4 in her last five MMA appearances. BKFC 76 will be her first combat sports fight in nearly three years’ time. On July 2, 2022, she dropped a unanimous decision to Maycee Barber (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). Counting appearances in grappling fights under the Submission Underground banner, she’s gone 1-6 in her last seven bouts in combat sports.
There’s no denying that Jessica Eye is a seasoned veteran of the world of competitive violence. How is “Evil” going to fare in her new athletic venture?
In the other corner, Mariya Agapova enters BKFC 76 with an 0-4-1 record over the course of her last five combat sports fights. Currently, she’s on a six-fight winless streak dating back to March of 2022.
Back on Nov. 16, she dropped a unanimous decision to Stacia Suttles (2-0, 1 KO) in Atlantic City. She hasn’t gotten her hand raised in victory since October of 2021, but can she return to victory lane here?
Final Thoughts
Which fight or fights on BKFC 76 are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.
