Who is Dillon Cleckler, Justin Thornton's opponent from BKFC 20?

Dillon Cleckler is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer. He currently competes under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) banner.

The 39-year-old holds a 3-0 record in BKFC. He has also gone 10-1 in his professional MMA career. The Florida native competes in the heavyweight division.

Dillon Cleckler came under the limelight after his bout with the recently deceased Justin Thornton.

Dillon Cleckler fought Thornton at BKFC 20 back in August. Cleckler viciously knocked out the 38-year-old Justin Thornton in the first round. Thornton tragically passed away on October 4 after succumbing to injuries suffered in the fight against Cleckler.

The 11-2 fighter was hospitalized after the fight. According to his Facebook page, he suffered paralysis, breathing issues, and infection to his lungs and spinal cord on September 23.

Take a look at the Facebook post from September on his official account here:

The fight at BKFC 20 was the second meeting between Thornton and Cleckler. The two first fought at Square Ring Promotions - Island Fight 20. Thornton had also faced UFC fighters such as Walt Harris and Chase Sherman.

Dillon Cleckler has a 100 percent finish rate in his professional fighting career. His amateur MMA record also consists of three finishes, including one submission.

Cleckler is set to fight again under the BKFC banner in November. His opponent is yet to be announced.

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Dillon Cleckler paid his condolences to Justin Thornton on Instagram

After learning of his former opponent's passing, Dillon Cleckler took to Instagram to share a heartfelt message about Justin Thornton and offer condolences to his family.

The heavyweight fighter wrote:

"As a fighter nothing prepares you for the news I received this morning on my way to training. Some of you may not of heard yet but my last opponent Justin Thornton passed away last night due to pneumonia... Justin is a warrior. It’s in his blood to fight. He loved it. He fought anyone, anytime and anywhere and when I didn’t have an opponent... Any man or woman who steps in the ring or the cage is special, they take a risk that 99.99% of the world would never take and sometimes I still don’t know why we do it... but Justin was a fighter his entire life and deserves nothing but respect!!! My thoughts and prayers are with Justin Thornton and his family at this time. RIP warrior"