A night of knockouts in New Jersey ended with a whimper as Jamel Herring eking out a split decision win over John Dodson for the BKFC bantamweight title in the main event.

After a thrilling co-main event ended with former UFC and Bellator star Jimmie Rivera scoring a legitimately terrifying knockout of Brandon Meyer, fans were expecting a treat at Prudential Center. However, they weren’t given much to work with as boxing and MMA clashed to create a sludge.

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Dodson was not quiet about his gameplan being to rush the former world champion boxer and ‘throw haymakers’. Unfortunately, he seemed to forget that second part and the fight was stalled to a near standstill by constant holding.

Jamel Herring vs John Dodson BKFC 95 fight angers David Feldman

Jamel Herring clearly entered the BKFC squared circle for the third time looking to use the same tactics that made him a world champion in the boxing ring. He found himself with a tough opponent, though, in The Ultimate Fighter 14 winner and former UFC title contender John Dodson.

The former UFC star pushed the pace but ended up clinching throughout the fight, while Herring was able to earn a decision by sticking behind his jab for five rounds. After the fight, promoter David Feldman told Bloody Elbow that he was not thrilled and would need to see more from the boxer.

“I think you guys appreciate that I am always honest and I will say that I was disgusted by the main event tonight,” Feldman admitted. “I didn’t like it. I get boxing, I get being technical but throwing one shot at a time? Pot shotting? Not really engaging?

“That’s not what we’re doing, we are Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, not ‘Bare Knuckle Boxing’. We’re there to see a fight and I don’t think that we saw a fight. I do think that John Dodson tried to create a fight.

“Jamel Herring is a phenomenal boxer but I think he has got to throw more punches and give us a little bit more action in future.”