Franco Tenaglia reflects on the mad war to win the BKFC lightweight title: “It was better than ‘Rocky'”

It’s difficult to excel in martial arts for all the right reasons. But despite so much going on, Franco Tenaglia has left his mark in 2024.

Tenaglia, along with Tony Soto, had one of the wildest fights of the year as they battled for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of BKFC Marbella in Spain. After a thrilling and destructive affair, Tenaglia was crowned champion.

“It’s almost like a religious experience,” Tenaglia told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “It’s something extremely energetic. Every fighter has his own life. Every fighter has their own thing that they fight for. I respect all fighters. I respect everyone in general; I’m a very respectful person and very humble, but I obviously have the utmost respect for him.

“Of course, after what we shared, he will forever be a part of my life. For me it was an incredible experience and people saw the battle of who wanted it more, which made it crazy. That was better than ‘Rocky’ because.” That was no gloves, real, and more punches.”

Tenaglia impressed many, including BKFC co-owner and UFC star Conor McGregor, who was in attendance. After the fight, McGregor jumped in and grabbed the microphone to announce not only that Tenaglia and Soto were receiving bonuses, but also double their base salaries.

“That meant more to me. I don’t care about the money,” Tenaglis said. “To have Conor McGregor, your idol, tell you that you are incredible, congratulate you on the fight and tell you that the world is yours, for someone who is an icon in MMA to say something like that to you, it is priceless. It’s worth more than double pay, but of course I’m happy about it because as you know, we fighters don’t earn that much compared to other athletes.”

As for the future, the Argentine fighter, who trains at Climent Club with UFC champion Ilia Topuria, wants to stay as active as possible.

“I’ve done this my whole career. I usually fight six or seven times a year because I combine it with MMA, bareknuckle MMA and bareknuckle boxing,” Tenaglia explained. “So I fight at least seven times a year and I want to keep it that way. This is therapy for me. When I’m not fighting, sometimes I feel like I’m training for nothing. I want to defend.” I wear the belt many times and make it clear that I am the best bareknuckle boxer in the world.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Franco Tenaglia reflects on mad war to win BKFC lightweight title: “That was better than ‘Rocky'”