Rivera floors Meyer with one-punch faceplant KO in fourth round at BKFC 95

Jimmie Rivera produced the highlight of BKFC 95 in Newark on Saturday night, knocking out Brandon Meyer with a single left hook in the fourth round of their co-main event bout to move to 4-2-1 in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

The finish was as clean as they come in bare-knuckle boxing. Rivera backed Meyer into the ropes before landing a picture-perfect left hook that sent Meyer crashing face-first to the canvas — a faceplant KO that will be difficult to top on the promotion’s highlight reel.

It was Rivera’s seventh appearance in the BKFC ring and his second stoppage win in the promotion, improving on the first he recorded last October. The New Jersey native is also a full-time police officer, a detail BKFC leaned into when booking him against Meyer, a man who spent 12 years in prison. Rivera himself joked beforehand that Meyer would get to hit him without facing arrest. The fourth round settled the debate rather decisively.

A former UFC and Bellator competitor, Rivera last fought in MMA in November 2021, suffering a loss to Pedro Munhoz at UFC Fight Night 186. Since then, he has carved out a successful second career in bare-knuckle, and Saturday’s performance underlined that his transition is no novelty act.