BKFC 6 results: Dakota Cochrane pulls off short notice win over Chris Leben
Dakota Cochrane took a short notice opportunity to fight at BKFC 6 and made the most of it.
The veteran mixed martial artist showcased a heavy-handed aggressive style to get the better of former UFC fighter Chris Leben over five round to earn a unanimous decision in the co-main event of the night. The final judges scorecards came back 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 all in Cochrane’s favor.
“I tried to keep that forward pressure and try to land shots,” Cochrane said following his first win in BKFC. “Try not to move back as much as possible. He’s a big dude. He hits hard. I’m excited for this one.
After a pair of knockouts to start his bare knuckle career, Leben looked comfortable exchanging punches with Cochrane, who jumped into this fight just recently after knocking out former UFC champion Johny Hendricks in a different promotion last year.
Leben was working best from the clinch as he looked to overwhelm Cochrane with uppercuts from the clinch. Cochrane returned fire with a huge punch in the second round that opened a massive cut over Leben’s right eye as the blood started streaming down his face.
It appeared the momentum was beginning to shift towards the UFC veteran in the third round with Leben bullying Cochrane around the ring including stiff left hand that busted his opponent open. Cochrane was definitely feeling that cut with blood pouring down his face and getting closer to his eyes.
Still, Cochrane refused to back down while winging huge punches with Leben as both fighters were beginning to show signs of exhaustion deep into the fourth round.
With a minute remaining in the fight, Cochrane definitely had more output as he began battering Leben with his combinations and his punches were definitely landing with more regularity. Over the course of 10 minutes, Cochrane’s power punches from distance definitely seemed to be the difference as he was connecting flush and if not for Leben’s concrete chin, he may have scored a couple of knockdowns.
When the final bell sounded, Leben and Cochrane were both spent as the cut men dealt with gashes opened up on the fighters throughout the five round war.
Ultimately, the judges favored Cochrane after the damage he inflicted over the course of the fight and Leben didn’t seem to have a problem with the call.
“Bring me another legend,” Cochrane said following the win. “Call me the legend killer.”