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.
Four titles decided on one night is BFL's signature format — the promotion's 'title fights only' cards compress an entire season of division movement into a single evening, which is why its numbered shows draw talent from across the west.
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).
Estremadura successfully snapped Rohovich’s three-fight win streak, while remaining undefeated in his professional career.
Estremadura's title win kept one of Canadian MMA's fastest-rising lightweight runs intact — three fights, three wins, and now a belt, all inside the same promotion's cage.
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.
Batra's finish was the night's emotional peak — a fighter who'd been doubted publicly letting the performance answer everything for him.
“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.”
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.
Aujla-Fieldt's early pressure was the comeback moment his four-year layoff had been building toward — Batra surviving it is what made the eventual finish decisive rather than lucky.
“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.
Wasuk's featherweight final was the night's marathon — five full rounds of amateur title fighting that closed out one of the longest and most successful amateur careers on the BFL roster.
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.”
Wasuk announced, prior to this fight, this would be his last time stepping into the cage at the amateur ranks.
The pre-announced retirement made it a win-or-bust night for Wasuk — leave with the belt and exit on top, or end a two-title amateur career on a loss.
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.
Wu's unanimous-decision title win completed the sweep — four new champions crowned in a single card, each resetting their division's ladder for the rest of the year.
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.
