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Tony Soto Relives Best BKFC Fight ‘You’ve Ever Seen’, McGregor Doubling Pay

Tony Soto talks BKFC Spain, Conor McGregor and wanting to run back his epic title fight with Franco Tenaglia.

Christopher De Santiago

BKFC

BKFC Spain was one for the books, with a "Fight of the Year" contender coming out of the main event.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship found their Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar moment, the iconic and epic three-round fight that's thought to have saved the UFC when it was in financial trouble in 2005.

Of course, that's not to say the BKFC needed saving, as the world's fastest-growing combat sports promotion is doing just fine, having made its debut on DAZN and in Spain with part-owner Conor McGregor there to promote the action in Marbella, including the epic headliner.

Conor McGregor Doubles Purses, Bonuses for BKFC Fighters after All-Out War

Headliner Tony Soto Thought He Did Enough To Win Title

The vacant lightweight title fight between Franco Tenaglia and Tony "Loco" Soto is up there with the best BKFC has to offer. Both men put everything they had on the line to go home a champion, engaging in the ultimate slugfest over the course of five rounds of which Soto thought he had won three.

"The third round when I was pulverizing this man and he stepped on my foot going backwards and clubbed me and I slipped and the ref called it a knockdown. It was just ridiculous," Soto told MMA Knockout following BKFC Spain. "I'm super sour about that because I was pulverizing him. And even if you want to give him that knockdown and give him - he did get the first round, that was clean, that was beautiful. If you give him the first and the third, I got the second, the fourth and the fifth."

"So it just kind of doesn't make sense that one judge's scorecard was a draw. That's the only other way I would see it..."

Both men battered and bruised from a battle that was worthy of a standing ovation from the crowd and McGregor and co. ringside, Tenaglia and Soto would both see the final bell with the durable Tenaglia getting his hand raised in the end by majority decision, becoming Argentina's first bare-knuckle champion.

Tony Soto Relives Best BKFC Fight ‘You’ve Ever Seen’, McGregor Doubling Pay
Franco Tenaglia (L), Tony Soto (R) / BKFC Spain: Tenaglia vs. Soto

Talks Of A Sudden Death Round As Scores Were Being Tallied

Officially, Tenaglia recorded two knockdowns in Rounds 1 and 3 (which Soto said was a slip) while Soto dropped him once in Round 2. Soto did have Tenaglia beat in the striking numbers with his 352 punches compared to Tenaglia's 234.

The fight was so close that Soto said officials approached him about a sudden death round after the final bell, a sixth round to determine the lightweight champion between him and the Argentinian - a bell he would've answered had it rang.

"So the doctor did come up to us and he asked me personally, 'Hey, would you be able to do a sudden death round, a sixth round?' And I said, 'What, huh?' Like, I didn't understand what's going on. I said, 'Yeah, let's do it.' Then all of a sudden they went to his corner and we're thinking we have another round coming up and now they have the scorecards. So, who knows? I don't think his face would have been able to continue to be honest."

Soto Calls For An Immediate Rematch With Tenaglia

But, much like Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar I in the UFC, Soto's legendary BKFC fight wouldn't be privy to an additional round, with the judges not seeing it his way.

"I'm my biggest critic and I felt like I did everything necessary to claim that victory. If worst comes to worst, at least a draw."

Tony Soto Relives Best BKFC Fight ‘You’ve Ever Seen’, McGregor Doubling Pay
BKFC Spain: Tenaglia vs. Sot

"I think that's the only thing that makes sense right now," Soto said of a potential immediate rematch with Tenaglia, given how exciting their first fight was. "I went over there, I waited a year to finally fight for the title. I've been 6-0 for a whole year and I waited for that. I went all the way to another country. So the least they can do is come over here and let's have a rematch on American soil."

Soto Reacts To Feldman, McGregor Doubling Their Paychecks For Terrific Fight

BKFC's first main event on DAZN surely delivered, so much so that founder David Feldman agreed to a special bonus for both Tenaglia and Soto for giving the sport of bare-knuckle boxing one of the best fights of all time.

McGregor raised the stakes even more, taking the mic from Feldman post-fight to announce he'd be doubling their initial purses as well.

"That's a beautiful thing," Soto said of McGregor doubling their money on fight night. "We go out here and we risk our lives and limb for the fans, I think that's the least they could do for somebody like myself who always puts on a show and made that promise."

"If you look at the press conference, I said, 'Marbella, I promise you I will give you the best bare-knuckle fight you've ever seen...' I kept my word."

Moving closer to 2025 after a blockbuster October, the tenacious title challenger Tony "Loco" Soto says his #1 goal is to win the BKFC world championship - another shot at gold against Franco Tenaglia.

"I want to just keep chasing my dreams and show anybody and everybody in this world, including my family, no matter how many times you get knocked down, it's all about how many times you get up and keep pushing forward."

BKFC Spain Results & Highlights

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Christopher De Santiago
CHRISTOPHER DE SANTIAGO

Christopher De Santiago is a 22 year-old journalist from Gainesville, Texas with years of experience covering MMA.

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