Estremadura, Wasuk, Batra Claim Vacant Titles at BFL 55

In what was being hyped as one of the deepest Battlefield Fight League lineups, BFL 55 delivered.

The event was held Saturday night in Coquitlam, B.C., at the Hard Rock Casino, and included four vacant title fights to determine new champions.

In the main event, young star Achilles Estremadura (now 3-0) became the new lightweight champion, after securing a majority decision victory over Ryan Rohovich (now 4-4).

Achilles Estremadura
Achilles Estremadura receives the lightweight strap at BFL 55.

Estremadura successfully snapped Rohovich’s three-fight win streak, while remaining undefeated in his professional career.

In the amateur welterweight title matchup, Austin Batra (now 4-1) defeated Justin Aujla-Fieldt (now 3-2) in convincing fashion, earning the knockout victory at 1:37 of the first round.

“I had a lot of anger coming into this fight. I had a lot of people doubting me,” said Batra in an interview.

“I took out every frustration that I had into every punch and kick that I threw, and now I’m a peaceful man.”

Austin Batra
Austin Batra (Photo courtesy of Austin Batra)

Coming into this bout, Aujla-Fieldt was working his way back from a four-year layoff. Batra said he was expecting Aujla-Fieldt to come out fast and furious, as he did.

Batra weathered an early storm from Aujla-Fieldt, remaining calm throughout, and eventually picking his shots to finish the fight.

“I went into the final exchange do-or-die,” said Batra.

“My exchange was better. My weapons were stronger. My arsenal was stronger than his. He dropped, and that’s all she wrote.”

Wasuk Ends Amateur Career on High Note

In the amateur featherweight title bout, Ali Wasuk and Mitch Strazzella put it all on the line for the entirety of the scheduled five three-minute rounds.

In the end, it was Wasuk (now 7-3) who emerged with the hard-fought split decision win over Strazzella (now 2-1), and another piece of hardware to add to his collection.

“His overhand surprised me. It was never on the same rhythm; it was always different,” said Wasuk in an interview.

“I felt like a started to get my timing in the third or fourth round, and if I had one or two more rounds, I definitely could’ve finished it.”

Ali Wasuk
Ali Wasuk in the cage at Hard Knocks 41. (Photo by Hard Knocks Fighting)

Wasuk announced, prior to this fight, this would be his last time stepping into the cage at the amateur ranks.

With the victory, Wasuk put the cherry on top of a highly-successful amateur career, and will now begin his climb up for the professional ranks.

“I feel like I’ve given BFL the opportunity to build me up a bit now, being a two-weight champ as an amateur,” said Wasuk

“I’m thinking September would be perfect (for pro debut), but I’ll be ready anytime. If BFL gives me an offer for July, I’ll be ready to go.”

In the fourth title bout, Dion Wu earned the unanimous decision victory over David Chen to become the first ever BFL amateur flyweight champion.

Jared Revel, Nick Coughran, Bruce Khademi, James Foster, Mike Dechavez, Marlan Hall, Casey O’Leary, Kody Smith, Omar Stefanini, and Jason Giroux were all also victorious at BFL 55, while Max Wong and Huck Jones fought to a draw.