It was a busy night for the judges at BFL 64.
Nine decisions on a single card is the kind of evening that tests a crowd's patience, but it also means the card was competitive — promotions that stack close matchups tend to produce more scorecards than finishes, and BFL has never been shy about booking even fights.
On an evening where nine bouts went the distance, Caio Machado (now 3-1-1) was involved in one of those nine contests, taking a narrow majority decision over Justin Doege (now 2-2) to become the new BFL heavyweight champion in Coquitlam, B.C. on Saturday night.
A majority decision in a title fight is as thin a margin as the sport offers — one judge seeing it a draw is all it takes to walk out without the belt, and Machado's ability to bank the championship rounds is exactly what separates fighters who win close ones from those who don't.
Machado said he knew he’d be the more effective fighter if they reached the championship rounds, which turned out to be where he did his best work.
Championship rounds are where preparation shows — five-round fights are a different cardiovascular and mental test than the three-rounders most regional fighters are used to, and Machado's willingness to go full-time for a camp paid off exactly where it was supposed to.
“This was the first fight I went full-time for a camp, dedicated my life to fighting, and had more time for training,” said Machado in his post-fight interview.”
“I had been to the championship rounds before and I knew that’s where I would be better.”
Doege caught Machado with one of his hard overhand rights in the third round that sent Machado to the mat. Machado said he was hurt briefly after the shot, but was fully recovered once they were back on the feet.
Getting dropped in a title fight and still winning the decision is the kind of adversity record that says more about a fighter than an easy finish — Machado had to survive a real moment in the third and come back to take the fourth and fifth.
Machado said he will be taking the next few months off for the Christmas holidays and to travel back to Brazil to see his family.
Upon his return, Machado said he’s hoping this title win will be his ticket to bigger and better opportunities down the line.
A BFL belt has historically been a legitimate launching pad — the promotion's champions have consistently graduated to bigger stages, and a title defense from a champion who's now training full-time is exactly the profile the bigger promotions scout.
“I’m looking to go to the next level now. I think this belt was my ticket to the next level,” said Machado in an interview with MMA Empire.
“I want to go to the big leagues. I don’t want to stay as the BFL champion; I want to be a UFC, Bellator or ONE FC champion.”
Triple Champ
Indroop Virk (now 7-0) accomplished a rare feat Saturday night, winning his third title in a third different weight class after a split decision victory over Mitch Strazzella (now 3-3) to win the BFL amateur bantamweight title.
Three amateur titles in three different divisions is genuinely rare — most fighters pick a weight class and stay there; Virk's willingness to chase belts up and down the ladder is the kind of ambition that usually translates to a long professional career.
With Strazzella missing weight, the contest was changed to a three-round fight in which only Virk was eligible to win the title with a victory.
Virk said he was disappointed he wasn’t able to secure the finish and was surprised at the split decision, but ultimately happy to come away with the win.
“It went real good, but I was kind of expecting a finish, which I didn’t get,” said Virk in an interview with MMA Empire.
“He was fu**ing tough; he was hard to hold down. I got a couple good slams on him, which was good, but I was surprised at the split decision. I thought I was going to get a 30-27 unanimous decision.”
But regardless of how the win came, Virk has now won belts in three different weight classes in his amateur career, with the flyweight and bantamweight titles coming for BFL and a featherweight title for Rumble in the Cage.
Virk said he was happy to have accomplished such a rare feat, and now has some decisions to make on what’s next for his MMA career.
“It feels great. I’m probably the only guy in Canada to have won three different belts in three different divisions,” said Virk.
“I’m going to Thailand in three weeks for some training, so when I get back in March I’ll talk to my coaches and figure out where we go from here.”
In other championship action, Mike Brackett returned after a four-year layoff to capture the BFL 175-pound amateur title, finishing Phil Lauzon by TKO in the fourth round.
The card's depth is worth noting too — a returning veteran claiming a title after four years away, plus a wrestling clinic in the co-feature, is the kind of undercard quality that separates a real promotion from a one-fight show.
Oguzhan Yalcin put on a wrestling clinic in his amateur featherweight title bout with Mani El-Hefnawy, leaving with the unanimous decision win and his first belt.
Jesus Garcia, Taylor Christopher, Dario Sinagoga, Glen Cuevas, Omar Stefanini, Maria Demers, Sina Maani, Niko Chan, Daniel Abdenour and Carson Le were also victorious on the evening.
