Jimmy Rivera’s life has taken him from the UFC’s bantamweight division to the New Jersey police force, but the former contender has continued fighting inside the ring. At BKFC 95 in Newark, Rivera faced Brandon Meyer, who spent 12 years in federal prison before pursuing combat sports, in a matchup that drew attention for the very different paths the two men had taken. Rivera ultimately won by knockout, though the finish left him apologising to Meyer’s children.
Rivera and Meyer’s unusual paths brought them together at BKFC 95
The matchup took place on the undercard of BKFC 95 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, where the promotion staged a card headlined by Jamel Herring against John Dodson for the BKFC bantamweight title. BKFC, which stages bare-knuckle contests, had recently attracted attention with a fight between former UFC stars Darren Till and Yoel Romero.Rivera, a former UFC bantamweight who faced former champions Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling, entered the bout as a serving police officer. Meyer, meanwhile, had spent 12 years behind bars before turning to mixed martial arts and bare-knuckle fighting.Meyer’s involvement with the criminal justice system began when he was 12 and placed on juvenile probation after a friend told police he had broken into an ice machine. His stepfather was later sentenced to life in prison for murder, and Meyer himself spent more than a decade in federal prison.He eventually found his way into fighting after a brawl at a party spilled into a park, where around 50 or 60 people gathered to watch. The contrast between Rivera’s work in law enforcement and Meyer’s past came up during the weigh-in interview with Jake Noeker, when Rivera offered a line that captured the unusual nature of their contest.“He gets to beat me up and not get arrested for it, so it’s a win-win,” Rivera said.
Rivera stopped Meyer with a fourth-round knockout
The fight ended 46 seconds into the fourth round, when Rivera landed a combination of punches that sent Meyer to the canvas. The referee stepped in and waved off the contest, giving Rivera the victory.Rivera, who now holds a 4-1 record in BKFC, acknowledged the severity of the finish afterwards and said he felt especially bad because Meyer’s children were in his corner.“It’s unbelievable. Thank you to Jersey, my friends, my family – everybody that came out to support me. This is a huge arena and it’s packed out,” Rivera said.He then addressed the knockout and the family members who had witnessed it.“I feel really bad because his kids were in his corner and the shot I landed was a shot. I apologised to them and said sorry but I was looking for that one shot,” Rivera said.Rivera explained that he had tried to remain patient rather than force an exchange, adding: “I took my time. Surprisingly he wasn’t engaging as much. I had to be patient.”
From UFC contender to New Jersey police officer
Rivera’s fighting career once centred on the UFC, where he competed at bantamweight against some of the division’s leading names. His life changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he began exploring work outside professional fighting.He initially tried dispatch work and later taught jiu-jitsu to police officers, before graduating from the New Jersey Police Academy in January 2023. He subsequently joined the Elmwood Park Police Department, balancing law enforcement with his work as a gym owner, instructor and BKFC fighter.The transition was not simply a change of career, Rivera told MMA Junkie, but reflected his need to stay occupied and keep working.“I won’t say I have ADHD, but I can’t stop,” he said. “I always have to work. I’ve always got to do something. I’m all about the grinding.”Rivera also spoke about the mental strain of having nothing to do, particularly after watching people struggle with retirement.“It’s also very bad mentally, to not do anything. You see people who retire and they don’t do anything. They end up getting right back into it or they mentally degrade and don’t look the best anymore,” he said.Before the pandemic, Rivera had been a UFC contender; now, he combines police work with training, teaching and competing, sometimes through 70- to 80-hour working weeks. His knockout of Meyer at BKFC 95 added another chapter to that unusually busy life, even as he left the ring concerned about the family who had watched the fight.
