Alberta's Drew Stuve wins third Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship bout
The lopsided fight was stopped at one minute 37 seconds of the first round at the River Cree Resort and Casino in suburban Enoch.
At six-foot-two, Stuve towered over the five-foot-eight Santiago who took the fight when original opponent Michael Manno dropped out. Stuve was the aggressor with Santiago only offering the occasional lunging attack.
Stuve finished the fight with a clubbing right to the head that felled the 42-year-old Santiago for the second time in the round.
'Respect to Will for taking the fight on short notice but I knew as soon as he did it was over,' said Stuve. 'I'm not here to play around. I'm here to go for the (championship) belt. Get me in the States. (I'm) 3-0 here in my home. You see the support I have here.'
The 28-year-old Stuve improved to 3-0-0 in BKFC action while Santiago fell to 2-2-1.
BKFC bouts are contested in a ring with five, two-minute rounds. Fighters are permitted to wrap and tape the wrist, thumb and mid-hand, but no gauze or tape can be within 2.5 centimetres of the knuckles. Punches are the only strike allowed.
Without the benefit of gloves, cuts are common. And they can lead to doctor-mandated stoppages that prevent the losing fighter from absorbing more damage.
In his BKFC debut in March 2024, Stuve defeated fellow Canadian (Lethal) Jay Kelly by first-round TKO. Last August, he stopped B.C.-based Briton Sonny (The Savage) Smith at 1:11 of the second round.
Stuve, who cuts a figure with his shaved head, handlebar moustache and copious tattoos, has fought on all three of the BKFC Canadian cards. The first two were BKFC Prospects cards featuring up-and-coming talent. Saturday's was a regular BKFC show.
Stuve, whose boxing record is 1-1-0 as a pro, drew the attention of BKFC after impressing at tryouts at Edmonton's Wolfhouse MMA gym.
After contesting his first two BKFC bouts at welterweight (165 pounds), Stuve has moved up to middleweight (175 pounds) after putting on pounds through a weightlifting program.
Santiago has a 9-7-0 record as a pro mixed martial arts fighter, losing to American Kevin Holland on Dana White's Contender Series in June 2018. Holland has gone on to post a 15-11-0 record with one no contest in the UFC.
Originally from Boston, Santiago moved to New Mexico to train at the storied Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2025.
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