It’s been over a year, but Ravon Baxter still has a bad taste in his mouth from his most recent trip to the BKFC Squared Circle.

At BKFC 30 last October, Baxter suffered the first defeat of his BKFC career with a third-round TKO loss to Tony “The Way” Jenkins in Monroe, LA.

“That loss gave me a big chip on my shoulder. It still really pisses me off, man. I feel like this sport is really destined for me, and I plan on going undefeated for a long time,” the Nashville, TN light-heavyweight contender says. “Something flipped in my mind with that loss. I’m giving it everything I’ve got, because I don’t have anything to lose.”

Professional fighters often have a tough time grappling with their first loss, but Baxter now believes his first defeat changed the trajectory of his career in a positive way.

“I didn’t understand it for a long time, and even now I’m still mad about it, but it put a lot of fuel on the fire,” he says.

“I worked a lot harder this camp, and I’m going to fight a lot harder, so maybe that loss was a blessing in disguise.”  

Baxter makes his long-awaited return to the Squared Circle against the debuting Diego “Psicopata” Romo at BKFC 53 in Orlando on Nov. 3, LIVE on The BKFC App. He predicts a stoppage victory over Romo, who will make history on fight night as the first Ecuadorian to fight for BKFC.

“It’s not going to the judges, I’ll tell you that,” Baxter says. “I’m going in there and I’m not stopping punching until he’s on the ground, man.”