Hollywood, FL: Like many combat sports, Backyard Brawls, also known as BYB Extreme, was out of commission during the time of this pandemic. Nearly nine months removed from its March 2020 event, it came back with a vengeance last week, as it returned to The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL – the site of its last pre-shutdown event. And, it did not disappoint.
The up-and-coming organization, headed up by Dhafir Harris, affectionately known to most as Dada 5000, put on an action-packed event, which was edited and aired last night on FITE TV. Initially, things looked grim, as six fighters tested positive for COVID-19 on the day of the event. This happened after all six of these fighters were negative one day prior at the time they stepped on the scales for the weigh-ins. One would think pandemonium then ensued, but it did not. Always planning ahead, Dada and BYB had originally scheduled a dozen bouts on the card and still had plenty of fights available to fill a televised card. In the end, seven fights took place and brought with them a ton of action.
Kobe Bowen, Charnell Taylor, José Fernandez, and Pablo Caballero all received quick wins, as their respective fights never made it out of the first round. Teagan Dooley put up a great fight in his bid, but Carlos Lopez was just too much for him, as Lopez picked up a third round KO victory and moved to 3-0 in bareknuckle boxing. In arguably the best contest of the night, Donnie Bush did some damage on the inside in his fight against the very experienced Leo Pla, but it was Pla who eventually found his distance, trapped Bush in the corner of the trigon, and finished the job en route to a KO at :33 of Round 4.
In the main event of the night, there was simply no contest. Hawaiian-bred Lorenzo Hood didn’t come to play, as he timed Joe DiBenedetto’s movements and landed a flush hook to the side of Joe’s head, which literally put Chicago-based DiBenedetto to sleep. Hood commented post-fight that he actually heard DiBenedetto snoring as he lay there out cold. It took a mere 45 seconds for the unbelievably fit Hood to drop his opponent with that single shot.
A crazy beginning. An amazing event. A spectacular ending. These are the short phrases best used to sum up the latest BYB Extreme event. We at The Fighting News very much look forward to attending the next event, whether that be with fans or without, as they return to Hollywood’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in just a couple of months. We’ll be sure to keep all of you updated on who will be fighting and exactly when the event will take place just as soon as we are informed.
–Mike Feinberg / TFN Reporter
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