Fight Research

BKFC 90 Birmingham: Tierney vs. Franco

Saturday, May 30, 2026 Utilita Arena Birmingham · Birmingham · United Kingdom
Model v0.1.0 · 59.0% hit rate 8 bouts Avg edge 3.0pt Model 8:15 AM ET Odds 7:27 AM ET
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Where the data disagrees with the market

Edges are the gap between the model's probability and the de-vigged market probability. Higher edge = more potential value. ⚠ = low data confidence.

Every bout on the card

Main Event · Welterweight BKFC Welterweight Championship
#1
Connor Tierney 48 ADV
9-2 · age 31 · 73" reach
VS
Rico Franco 52 ADV
10-3 · age 33 · 69" reach
Predictability
29 Weak signal
Rico Franco def. Connor Tierney via KO · Round 2
Our pre-fight pick: Rico Franco
Tale of the tape · factor breakdown
1456
ELO Rating
1564 ★
L-L
Recent Form
W-W-W ★
9-2
BKFC Record
10-3
31
Age
33
73"
Reach
69"
1d ago
Activity
1d ago
0/2 cuts
Cut History
0 cuts
80%
Opponent Quality
27%
11 fights
BKFC Experience
13 fights
United Kingdom
Home
United Kingdom

Things to consider

Connor Tierney has a 4" reach advantage — extra distance to land clean jabs and stay outside the pocket unless Rico Franco can force infighting.

Co-Main · Cruiserweight BKFC Cruiserweight Championship
#2
John Phillips 73 ADV
2-0 · 74" reach
VS
Ryan Barrett 27 ADV
0-1 · age 43
Predictability
37 Marginal
John Phillips def. Ryan Barrett via KO · Round 1
Our pre-fight pick: John Phillips
Tale of the tape · factor breakdown
1547
ELO Rating
1475
W-W
Recent Form
L
1-0
BKFC Record
0-0
100%
KO Rate
1d ago
Activity
1d ago
0 cuts
Cut History
0/1 cuts
0%
Opponent Quality
100% ★
1 fights
BKFC Experience
0 fights
United Kingdom
Home
United Kingdom
Featured Bout · Bantamweight BKFC Bantamweight Championship
#3
Jonno Chipchase 45 ADV
3-2 · age 35 · 73" reach
VS
Brian Hyslop 55 ADV
1-1 · age 39 · 65" reach
Predictability
31 Weak signal
Brian Hyslop def. Jonno Chipchase via Unanimous Decision · Round 5
Our pre-fight pick: Brian Hyslop
Tale of the tape · factor breakdown
1469
ELO Rating
1522 ★
L-L-W
Recent Form
W ★
3-2
BKFC Record
1-1
35
Age
39
73"
Reach
65"
1d ago
Activity
1d ago
0/2 cuts
Cut History
0 cuts
50%
Opponent Quality
60%
5 fights
BKFC Experience
2 fights
United Kingdom
Home
United Kingdom

Things to consider

4-year age gap favors the younger fighter. Watch for cardio and hand durability in the later rounds.

Jonno Chipchase has a 8" reach advantage — extra distance to land clean jabs and stay outside the pocket unless Brian Hyslop can force infighting.

Main Card · Welterweight
#4
VS
Luke Brassfield 43 ADV
0-1 · age 38 · 72" reach
Predictability ⚠ Limited BKFC signal — both fighters debut-tier
Model
57%
43%
Model and market agree closely.
Very Low confidence
Tale of the tape · factor breakdown
0-0
BKFC Record
0-1
0 fights
BKFC Experience
1 fights
Home
United Kingdom ★

Things to consider

Mike Wilkinson is making their BKFC debut. The gap from gloved boxing/MMA to bare knuckle is real — cuts, hand swelling, and 2-minute rounds all favor Luke Brassfield's experience.

Main Card · Middleweight
#6
George Thorpe 55 ADV
2-1 · age 29 · 79" reach
VS
Leigh Cohoon 45 ADV
3-0 · age 41 · 74" reach
Predictability
49 Marginal
George Thorpe def. Leigh Cohoon via Unanimous Decision · Round 5
Our pre-fight pick: George Thorpe
Tale of the tape · factor breakdown
1542
ELO Rating
1522
W-W
Recent Form
L-W-W
2-1
BKFC Record
3-0 ★
50%
KO Rate
67% ★
29
Age
41
79"
Reach
74"
1d ago
Activity
1d ago
0 cuts
Cut History
0/1 cuts
50%
Opponent Quality
67% ★
3 fights
BKFC Experience
3 fights
6'2"
Height
6'0"
United Kingdom
Home
United Kingdom

Things to consider

Leigh Cohoon is 12 years older. In bare knuckle, hand durability and cut vulnerability decline fast past 35 — this is a meaningful physical gap.

George Thorpe has a 5" reach advantage — extra distance to land clean jabs and stay outside the pocket unless Leigh Cohoon can force infighting.

Main Card · Middleweight
#7
Paul O'Sullivan 65 ADV
1-2 · age 39 · 70" reach
VS
Predictability
33 Weak signal
Paul O'Sullivan def. Paul Hilz via Unanimous Decision · Round 5
Our pre-fight pick: Paul O'Sullivan
Tale of the tape · factor breakdown
1519
ELO Rating
1481
W
Recent Form
L
1-2
BKFC Record
0-0 ★
1d ago
Activity
1d ago
0 cuts
Cut History
0/1 cuts
Opponent Quality
33%
3 fights
BKFC Experience
0 fights
United Kingdom
Home
Preliminary · Lightweight
#8
Tommy Hawthorn 65 ADV
1-0 · age 30 · 72" reach
VS
Will Smith 35 ADV
1-0 · age 36
Predictability
44 Marginal
Tommy Hawthorn def. Will Smith via TKO · Round 3
Our pre-fight pick: Tommy Hawthorn
Tale of the tape · factor breakdown
1522
ELO Rating
1478
W
Recent Form
L
1-0
BKFC Record
1-0
30
Age
36
1d ago
Activity
1d ago
0 cuts
Cut History
0/1 cuts
100%
Opponent Quality
100%
1 fights
BKFC Experience
1 fights
5'9"
Height
6'1" ★
United Kingdom
Home
United Kingdom

Things to consider

Will Smith is 6 years older. In bare knuckle, hand durability and cut vulnerability decline fast past 35 — this is a meaningful physical gap.

How we predict — and how accurate we've been

59.0%
Model accuracy
on 139 historical picks
+9pp
Edge over 50/50
vs coin-flip baseline
362
Bouts backtested
point-in-time, no leakage

The PropsBot model is a transparent factor-based scoring system — not a black box. For every bout we score the two fighters on ten+ dimensions, combine via weighted sum, and convert to a probability via a logistic function. That model probability is then compared to the de-vigged moneyline from the market to flag potential value.

BKFC win rate (Bayesian-smoothed)
18%
Recent form (last 5, decay 0.85ⁱ)
14%
BKFC KO rate / finishing ability
13%
Age curve (steep decline past 35)
12%
Reach advantage
10%
Style matchup (pressure/counter/etc)
8%
MMA-background depth
8%
Activity / ring rust
7%
Cut susceptibility (past DS losses)
6%
Strength of schedule
5%
BKFC experience (fight count)
5%
Height advantage
4%

Per-factor accuracy from our point-in-time backtest (skipped where data is thin):

Recent Form (n=100)
59.0%
BKFC Record (n=106)
58.5%
Reach (n=132)
52.3%
Height (n=117)
52.1%
Age (n=161)
50.9%

Each factor's edge strength is its own sub-score — a 1" reach gap barely moves the needle; a 6" gap is meaningful. Missing data drops a factor's weight to zero rather than guessing.

Be honest with yourself: 59.0% accuracy on toss-up-filtered picks means we're wrong roughly 4 out of every 10 bets we recommend. The model is a decision aid, not a crystal ball. BKFC intangibles (cut depth, weight cut, camp news, injuries) aren't fully captured. Never bet more than you can lose on a pick without confirming with additional research.