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BKFC 75’s Amazing Card Friday Night in New Mexico

Originally posted on MMA Sucka | By Drew Zuhosky | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 8:56 PM ET

BKFC 75 fight week is here. While UFC 316 features a pair of championship fights at the top of the bout order on Saturday night, a championship weekend throughout the world of sports kicks off 24 hours prior to the Prudential Center pay-per-view.

Friday night, David Feldman’s promotion heads out west to Albuquerque, NM and Tingley Coliseum for the first BKFC show since early last month. Coverage of the event begins at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT with the prelims before moving on to the main card an hour later.

As always, BKFC 75 will be seen gavel to gavel via DAZN. If there are no postponed fights between now and Friday evening, the final version of this event will feature a schedule of nine bare-knuckle fights from New Mexico.

BKFC 75 Main Event: BKFC Middleweight Championship: [C] David Mundell vs. No. 3 Contender Donald Sanchez

At the top of the bill on Friday night, the BKFC Middleweight Championship will be at stake in your main event of the evening. Incumbent titleholder David Mundell (9-1 BKFC) will put his 175-lb strap up for grabs when he collides with challenger and No. 3 contender Donald Sanchez (4-1 BKFC.)

This fight, as well as all of the contests on BKFC 75, will be a maximum of five rounds at two minutes per round. Champion David Mundell, a 15-fight veteran of MMA, enters Friday’s main event having gone 5-0 in his last five matches as part of his ongoing seven-fight winning streak.

Last fall, he trekked to Marbella, Spain for the first-ever BKFC card on DAZN. That October night, he successfully defended the BKFC Middleweight Championship with a second-round TKO of Danny Christie (5-2 BKFC).

The contest was one of three championship bouts to be held on the evening. Mundell has been on a hot streak of late, with Friday’s contest being the fifth time that he’s defended his title. Will the Floridian hold onto the championship?

Meanwhile, Donald Sanchez comes into BKFC 75 this coming weekend with a mark of 5-0 in his last five combat sports, counting a fight in traditional boxing last June. As far as his BKFC tenure is concerned, he’ll return on Friday night after scoring a unanimous decision victory over Harrison Aiken in Albuquerque.

This is a “home game” for Donald Sanchez, who’s a native of Albuquerque and has made all five of his BKFC appearances in the area. Sanchez is a seasoned veteran of the world of competitive violence, with 50 career appearances in MMA to his credit, as well as nine fights in boxing.

Counting all competitions, the BKFC 75 main event is his 64th professional fight in combat sports. Can Sanchez wrest the title away from David Mundell?

BKFC 75 Co-Main Event: No. 5 Contender Murat Kilimetov vs. Leo Bercier

Immediately beforehand, the BKFC 75 co-main event sees action take place in the cruiserweight division when No. 5 contender Murat Kilimetov (2-0 BKFC) battles Leo Bercier (6-3 BKFC.) The fifth-ranked contender will be making the walk on a strength of a 3-2 record in his last five fights dating back to his MMA career.

At present, he’s won two fights in a row since joining BKFC. Back in February, Kilimetov finished Lamont Stafford (1-1 BKFC) by way of first-round TKO with just over a minute having elapsed from the clock. Bercier was not Kilimetov’s original opponent for Friday night’s card, however.

Initially, he was supposed to have faced off against Jeramy Karshner during BKFC 75 in what was to be his BKFC promotional debut this coming weekend before the latter withdrew from the event. How will the change in opponent affect Kilimetov’s gameplan as the fight nears?

Across the way, Leo Bercier comes into this week’s show with a record of 4-1 in his last five BKFC appearances. He’s seeking a second victory in a row on Friday. Last November, he stopped Drew Nolan (1-2 BKFC) during BKFC Fight Night Billings on DAZN. Nolan returns to the ring next Saturday during BKFC Fight Night from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT versus Joseph Peters.

Only time will tell if Leo Bercier can get the job done.

BKFC 75 Featured Bout: Derek Perez vs. Rick Caruso

Also on BKFC 75 on Friday night, the featured bout of the evening occurs in the featherweight ranks. Derek Perez (3-4 BKFC) will enter the ring for a fight with Rick Caruso (2-4, 1 NC BKFC.) This is a makegood of a postponed bout from Feb. 28, with the original contest getting scrubbed ahead of the show.

Perez comes into this Friday night’s bout having gone 2-3 in his most recent five contests dating back to October of 2023. On Feb. 28 in Albuquerque, he returned to victory lane with a first-round TKO over Micah Livingston. Only two seconds remained on the clock at the time of the stoppage.

This is his second walk in 2025 after appearing in three fights last year. During 2024, he went 0-3, with all three contests resulting in defeats by way of TKO. Can Perez continue his 2025 schedule with another win?

In the other corner, Rick Caruso has posted a mark of 2-2 with one no-contest in his last five fights. Back in October, he bested Brandon Bushaw (2-1, 1 NC BKFC) in a rematch of their 2023 bout which ended in a no-contest after 33 seconds in the second round of a scheduled five after the latter landed a forbidden strike to the back of the former’s head

With Caruso’s rivalry against Bushaw having reached a definitive conclusion last fall and after a delay of more than three months, will he score the win against Derek Perez?