We know that hockey and fighting go hand in hand, but this is different.

Monday night at Prudential Center, while the New Jersey Devils hosted the Ottawa Senators, several members of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship promotion were in attendance to hype up this weekend’s BKFC 95 event. The Devils lost to the Senators 4-1 thanks to a combination of penalty troubles, an inability to get to the inside areas on the ice and a stout Senators’ defense. Nico Daws was not bad, but his 16 saves on 19 shots were not enough compared to Linus Ullmark stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced.

Off the ice, co-main event fighter Jimmie Rivera and noted knockout artist Santo Curatolo took in the game as they prepare for their respective matches on Saturday night’s card at The Rock. Rivera is set to take on Brandon Meyer, while Curatolo, in his BKFC debut, will mix things up with Anthony Yost. 

“This is my third time fighting at Prudential Center coming up,” Rivera said. “I love it. I’m born and bred in New Jersey, so, ideally, when you’re in New Jersey and then you wanna be at the Prudential Center fighting and to be able to make it to UFC, now in the BKFC and do it a second time, means the world.”

“It’s exciting,” Curatolo chimed in. “A lot of my fights have been right in my backyard, at least it felt like it, fighting in Atlantic City. But right here in Newark, New Jersey, is just as exciting. Even more exciting. I work here. This is my city that I’m in almost every day and it’s an honor. I’m looking forward to it.”

On Saturday night, Rivera certainly hopes his return to Prudential Center is a triumphant one, especially as he has become so ingrained in the community.

“I’m a Juvenile Detective,” Rivera explained. “I do our defensive tactics for our PD. I’m in community policing. I’m also the lead instructor for the Bergen County Police Academy as a defensive tactics instructor. Plus, I still own a Tiger Schulmann’s School in Short Hills. So teaching is second nature to me and teaching police work and understanding it now – being an officer for five years, being a detective and knowing the ins and outs, what to do, what not to do, use of force and all that has really helped and we’re really making Bergen County one of the academies that it’s a must-go-to. If you can get in there, you’re gonna get great training.”

Between the two of them, Rivera is a self-professed Devils fan, having grown up in Bergen County, watching and rooting for Martin Brodeur. 

“Brodeur was one of my favorites,” Rivera explained. “It was back in the day when I was a teenager. Every Sunday, whenever there was a Devils game on, whatever my cousin and aunt were watching, we always had the game on, watched them and got to go to one of the malls. I remember it was Macy’s; they had The Stanley Cup there. It was awesome to be a part of it, just to go see it when the Devils won.”

“I was never too much of a big sports fan in general,” Curatolo explained. “But if I was a fan of any sports, it was hockey more than anything and it was always Devils and Rangers. It was New York, New Jersey. That’s where I grew up and I was just always a fan of both of those teams.”

Given that he’ll be fighting at Prudential Center, the Staten Island native should probably emphasize his Devils fandom to keep the home crowd on his side during Saturday’s fight. Of course, his 6-4 MMA record, with five TKOs, is also a point in his favor. 

“It means having a really good skill set,” Curatolo said about his penchant for knockouts. “Knockouts don’t come easy. You can hit a guy with everything you got; you’re not gonna knock him out. It’s about precision and timing, hitting with the shots he doesn’t see coming. That’s something that I constantly work on. I strive to catch people off guard, hit them with shots they don’t see coming. That’s how you get the knockouts. That’s how you get the win and you do it most efficiently.”

That fighting style is different from what you see in The NHL, where it’s less about refined technique and more about brawling, although Rivera could help in that department. 

“Come to a couple classes with me in Short Hills; it’s not far from here,” Rivera quipped. “It’s about a half-hour from Prudential Center. I bet they’ll be even better at fighting and striking. Just look where your punches are going, because the worst is when you hit the helmet.”

Perhaps that advice would have helped the Devils Monday night, as the first period was filled with chippiness. Then again, a group of guys pushing and shoving each other is very different from two men standing across the ring from each other and going at it mano a mano. 

“Fighting is a very broad technical sport,” Rivera continued. “Some people are really good at jiu-jitsu, wrestling; some people are good strikers. I definitely fall in line with strikers, especially boxing. It’s one of my passions. I love, love boxing. My grandfather on my mom’s side, my Italian side, was a Golden Gloves boxer. On the Puerto Rican side, fighting is second nature. 

“So, with the technicalities, people think that it’s just a brawl, but guys are actually doing different things to set up a big shot or set up a takedown or wherever it might be. Whatever art form it is. So there’s a lot of technical stuff; it’s not just a brawl, it’s not a bar fight. These guys come in with game plans and they have to make last-minute changes, adjustments, depending on how the fight’s going.”

The adjustments can start long before the fight even begins, especially if a fighter is feeling nervous. Neither Rivera nor Curatolo would admit to feeling anything other than excitement for Saturday’s card. 

“I feel very calm,” Curatolo said. “I feel really right where I’m supposed to be right now and I’m excited. The day of the fight, maybe I’ll get some nerves, but that’s normal. If you don’t get nervous, you’re either a psychopath or you’re lying. So maybe the day of, I’ll get a little bit. Right now, I feel really happy to be here. I’m feeling out the environment and I’m ready to rock.”

If only the Devils had been ready to rock. In the first 20 minutes of the game, New Jersey committed three penalties, including a five-minute major for boarding by Anthony Mantha. It’s the fifth straight game this season that has seen the Devils and their opponent combine for multiple first-period penalties and it’s something the team needs to clean up, much like how a fighter has to make adjustments if their game plan isn’t working. 

“I mean it’s different, right?” Sheldon Keefe posited. “Today, I don’t think the (Brenden) Dillon penalty is a penalty at all. I think the referees didn’t see that correctly and their guy was playing the puck and Dillon finished…called interference. They didn’t really see that he was playing the puck. But that’s an aggression penalty. (Anthony) Mantha penalty is an aggression penalty. The hit’s a dangerous hit. It certainly is a penalty and probably worthy of the five, but those are aggression penalties. 

“Some of them we took in the second we’re on our heels. We’re hooking and defending and trying to cover up for mistakes. The aggression penalties, especially the way we killed tonight, we can handle those. We want to stay out of the box. But yes, it is disruptive. It’s a lot of miles on Nico (Hischier) early in the game. It’s a lot of miles on our defensemen, especially how we were killing, aggressive on our toes, competitive, closing fast. That takes a lot out of you. 

“There’s a lot of times you want to get upset with how things are going on the ice and you’re looking down and our defensemen can barely breathe. So that’s all part of it. We gotta manage the game better, but also don’t wanna take away from the aggression and physicality of our group at the same time. Just maybe a little smarter with it.”

Shane Pinto, Stephen Halliday (PPG), Tim Stutzle and Tyler Kleven (ENG) combined to score all four of Ottawa’s goals by punching back at the Devils and capitalizing on New Jersey’s mistakes, just like how a good fighter does so in the ring. 

Since Rivera and Curatolo came to see the Devils, perhaps the Devils should now go see the two of them on Saturday night. Who knows, maybe they’ll learn something about how to adjust to their opponent’s game plan? After all, BKFC 95 will take place at Prudential Center, with additional information available at https://www.prucenter.com/events/bare-knuckle-fighting-championship. 

For the two guest fighters, Saturday is the culmination of a long and winding road filled with intensive training. For the Devils, they need to have short memories because they play again Tuesday night, this time in Detroit, where they’re sure to be in for a fight.