Taylor Starling is not intimidated by current BKFC flyweight champion Christine Ferea, as she showed a few months back.
Starling challenges Ferea for the title in the main event of Saturday’s BKFC 28 event in the challenger’s hometown Albuquerque, N.M.
Before the fight was officially announced, Starling made the trip to Florida in hopes of confronting Ferea following some recent social media trash talk from the champion. She got her wish, and saw Ferea carrying the belt. From there, she walked up on her, snatched the title from her, and things got a bit chaotic.
“I knew that Christine was going to be there and she kept talking so much s***, ‘If you want this belt, come and get it, and I was like, ‘F*** that,’” Starling told MMA Fighting. “I’m just going to go take the belt. She keeps talking all this smack, why not go and do it? I’m not scared of her, and I think people fall into that with her where she plays these head games with her, and I’m not. I’m not, so I thought, why not just go down to Florida, and if I run into her, I’m going to snatch that belt and cause a commotion.
“I had been asking for the title fight, and I had been asking nicely, ‘Please, I think I deserve it,’ and I’ve just learned throughout the business of fighting that if you want something, sometimes you’ve just got to stir up some s*** to get what you want. I just thought, there’s not better way than to show up and cause a scene.”
Currently, betting odds for the championship main event haven’t been released, but most feel Starling will be a sizable underdog heading into it. “Killa Bee” is 3-0 in the BKFC ring, which includes a bloody unanimous decision against Charisa Sigala at KnuckleMania in February 2021, a quick knockout of Cassie Robb five months later at BKFC 19, and a hard-fought decision win against The Ultimate Fighter 30 competitor Hannah Guy this past December at BKFC Fight Night Tampa.
Despite her recent success, many seem to be siding with the 5-1 BKFC veteran Ferea, who captured the belt with a decision win against Britain Hart at KnuckleMania 2 in February — and that’s more than fine with Starling.
“One hundred percent I’m not getting enough credit, but I love it,” Starling told MMA Fighting. “It motivates me even more, it adds fuel to the fire because I know people are sleeping on me — and that’s because Christine is so good at talking. She’s a good fighter, don’t get me wrong, she’s an amazing fighter, but she has this effect on people where she talks and sells it, and she makes people believe that she’s indestructible.
“I don’t believe in that facade, I’m not buying into that s***. I’ve seen Christine get beaten and I know that I have the key to take the belt from Christine. I can’t wait to prove it — not just to myself, but to everyone that’s doubting me. I’m coming to show them what’s up.”
Starling admits that fighting at home in Albuquerque in front of family and friends means more to her than fighting for the title, but also believes it will be the setting for a memorable title switch to cap off the card.
“Taylor Starling, ‘And new women’s flyweight champion,’” Starling predicts. “I see it. I feel it. I’m envisioning it every single day. I’ve just been getting better and better, I’ve been working so hard, and everyone’s going to see a totally different Taylor.
“I don’t think people realize how I’ve switched every little bit of my game just for this. I’m not coming up short, I’m just not. It’s going to be ‘And new,’ I promise you.”
