Leo “Bushido” Bercier didn’t know what he was getting into when he signed on the dotted line with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
“I just wanted to try it. At the time, it was so new, so wild, so unheard of. It was so wild that I just wanted to try it,” the hard-hitting Great Falls, MT product says. “I’ve done MMA, kickboxing, gloved boxing – I said, (expletive) it, I want to try it.”
It was love at first fight for BKFC and Bercier, whose resume includes 30 professional MMA fights.
“It was the coolest experience that I’ve ever had in professional combat sports. It is by far the best, most exhilarating experience that I’ve had in all my fights,” he says.
“It was wild, it was crazy, everything was different. I was immediately hooked. If I could handle it, I’d fight every weekend for BKFC.”
Bercier returns to the Squared Circle for the fifth time at BKFC 57 on Friday. He'll try to improve to 4-1 with a third straight stoppage victory over Steve “Tomahawk” Townsel (3-3, 3 KO) in their cruiserweight matchup at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL, LIVE on The BKFC App.
Neither Bercier nor Townsel have gone to a decision in their combined 10 bare knuckle fighting bouts. It’s safe to say that “Bushido” sees that trend continuing in Florida.
“I envision knocking him out. This fight plays out in my head over and over with me finishing him by knockout,” Bercier says. “What round? I have no idea. He’s a pretty good fighter, he’s seasoned. He’s a little bigger than me, but I’ve fought big dudes before.
“I’ve been down all these roads before, and you come to the realization that these are all just men. They’re just men out there – nothing special about them – anybody can be caught. Hell, I can be caught, but in my head I see myself winning this fight by knockout.”
