BKFC Contender Nathan Rivera Enjoying the Pressure as 'Rivera Era' Nears its Peak [Exclusive]

When Nathan Rivera stopped Tommy Strydom in the third round to improve to 5-0 in the BKFC, he expected a title shot or a No. 1 contender opportunity might be in his near future.

Instead, he watched a fighter ranked beneath him, Nico Gaffie, get the fight with champion Kai Stewart before receiving the call to face 1-0 Tray Martin.

Puzzling to some, but Rivera was neither confused nor bothered by the surprising turn of events. Gaffie was the BKFC's European featherweight champion, and fighting Stewart was not Rivera's immediate plan anyway. 'The Reaper' memorably called out No. 1-ranked Edgard Plazaola after beating Strydom, which is just part of his plan to take out all the contenders in the featherweight division.

"Everyone and their mother is calling for the champ," Rivera told KO on SI. "I want to fight the champ too, but that's one approach. It doesn't seem to be working out for a lot of people, so my idea is to kind of, like, I'm gonna go after everybody in the division that is a name so that it's kind of just undeniable. That's my mindset. It's more exciting for the fans. It's more exciting for me to be able to say, 'Yeah, man, I didn't get a shortcut to the title.' Would I take it? Of course. But if I had a preference, I would love to just take out the contenders so that whenever I do get the title fight, it's earned."

Nathan Rivera isn’t entering a new era, he’s here to take over the whole timeline 😈👊#BKFCNASHVILLE | June 19 | Watch on BKFC+ pic.twitter.com/RY9D8PyfJ9
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) June 13, 2026

Rivera proposed a four-man tournament, similar to what the BKFC has done with its lightweight division, to settle the current featherweight title scene. Assuming Stewart defends the belt against Plazaola, Rivera suggested he face No. 3-ranked Bryan Duran in a title eliminator.

"What I would love to see is a four-man tournament between Edgard and Kai, and me and Bryan Duran. I think that would be awesome. The top four guys in the division, including the champ. Edgard, I think in his mind, he's earned a title shot, right? So let them fight for the title. Me and Bryan Duran will fight for a No. 1 contender fight and then the winners fight each other."

Nathan Rivera takes on Tray Martin at BKFC Nashville

The undefeated Plazaola has been on the top of his hit list for some time, but Rivera understands the Miami native's contentment to wait for his title shot. Rivera turned his attention to several other top-ranked contenders in the division before finding it difficult to pin down an opponent.

That's where Tray Martin entered the picture.

"I know [Martin has] got like 17 boxing fights. But the biggest thing, whenever he got the contract to fight me, he signed it immediately. He was like the fifth or sixth person that we had gone through. It had been kind of a process to get something on paper. But when he signed it immediately, that kind of told me that he's game and he's coming to fight."

Martin was nowhere near Rivera's radar after his win over Strydom. The 26-year-old just made his bare-knuckle boxing debut with a hard-fought split decision win over Nate Gahreeb in January at welterweight — two weight classes above his 145-pound bout at BKFC Nashville.

Nathan Rivera embracing pressure as a full-time fighter

After seven months away, Rivera is simply happy to be returning to the ring. He might not have any other option after quitting his welding sales job earlier in the year, which he admitted added pressure to his sixth bare-knuckle bout. Pressure that the Filipino fighter is embracing as part of what he calls 'The Rivera Era.'

"This definitely adds a certain layer," Rivera said. "Every fight camp we learn something new, right? Sometimes we burn the candle too hard and we have to ease off of it, but quitting my job, it definitely added this layer of pressure, I guess you could say. You gotta go get it; you don't got a paycheck coming every two weeks anymore. You put your eggs in this basket. I love it 'cause I think it makes me so much sharper. I never would have expected this shift."

Five fights into his BKFC run, Rivera has already proved himself as one of the most unique and versatile fighters in the sport. His power and placement were evident early with a pair of first-round knockouts to kick off his career, before pace and volume took over as the competition increased.

Rivera enters his co-main event bout with Martin averaging 84.7 punches per fight in his last three outings, an exceptionally high punch count in bare-knuckle boxing.

In addition to stacking wins, Rivera continues to be one of the most charismatic fighters on the BKFC roster. So far, he has paired every win with an attention-grabbing post-fight gesture, from taping a note under president David Feldman's chair to printing out mock newspapers and wanted posters.

"That's what the Rivera Era is, man. It's a party; it's fun. Before, during and after my fight, there's always stuff planned. There's always more than just fighting."

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