BKFC 86 Preview: Start time, Fight card, How To Watch & Live Stream

The BKFC picks up right where it left off in 2025 by beginning the New Year at the Mohegan Sun. Julian Lane returns to make his first defense of the BKFC welterweight title against Dustin Pague in the main event, with former WBO super featherweight champion Jamel Herring making his bare-knuckle debut in the co-main event.

Lane makes the walk for the first time as a champion five months after beating Gorjan 'Gogo' Slaveski for the vacant 165-pound title. The win capped off a five-fight win streak that began with a win over Murat Kazgan in November 2023.

Pague prepares for his first major world title after 20 years as a professional fighter. The 38-year-old is coming off back-to-back second-round knockouts of previously undefeated contenders Ryan Petersen and Andrew Angelcor to improve to 5-2 in bare-knuckle.

Herring's debut in the co-main event will come against three-fight veteran Matt Guymon, who is 1-1 in the BKFC. Guymon's only loss came against Ryan Reber, who just fought for the vacant bantamweight title.

Local undefeated prospects Rico DiSciullo and Guilherme Viana also compete on the card earlier in the night. Both fighters have had immense success in the ring after transitioning from MMA.

DiSciullo, 2-0, returns for his third bare-knuckle bout against 1-0 Ashton Caniglia. DiSciullo, who grew his fan base as a former contestant on the UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter, collected a pair of show-stopping knockouts to begin his career in 2025.

Viana is just one fight into his bare-knuckle career, but he already stamped himself as a name to watch in the heavyweight division. The Brazilian made his debut on the final event of 2025, knocking out Aleem Whitfield in the second round, and is attempting to go 2-0 in as many months.