Years ago, the idea of Bare Knuckle Boxing seemed like a side-show more than legitimate combat sports. I, for one, cannot sit here and write this article saying that I was any different from the masses.
Growing up as a huge boxing and MMA fan, I didn’t even know about the world of bare knuckle. When bare knuckle started to gain some steam in the 2010s, I honestly looked at it the same way that I look at Slap Fighting today.
However, my opinion on the combat sport has changed over time and I’ve grown to have a true appreciation for it. Yes, it’s completely raw and it’s edgy, but that’s the beauty of it. It’s brutal and violent but in that sense, it’s the most relatable combat sports to true life combat.
Within this world of bare knuckle, you have two main promotions that have risen to the top. You have Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) and you have Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB). Both of these promotions have made waves, but they’ve gone about it in completely different ways.
In the United States, you’ve likely been more exposed to BKFC over the last few years, especially if you’re a fan of MMA. The promotion has largely targeted past stars from MMA to gain marketshare and notoriety.
BKFC has included some big MMA names such as Mike Perry, Yoel Romero, Darren Till, Chad Mendes, Jeremy Stephens, and Paige VanZant. In addition, the promotion has featured former UFC champions like Eddie Alvarez and Luke Rockhold.
BKFC also has a major driving force behind them in one of the biggest combat sports stars of all time in Conor McGregor who became an investor and ambassador in 2024.
Despite all this, it’s somewhat felt like BKFC has stalled in ways. Yes, they do announce big fights here and there and they actually announced a major one yesterday in Darren Till – Yoel Romero. However, I just feel like they should be further along in terms of their business.
Perhaps there’s too many cooks in the kitchen or just a lack of direction, but it feels like they haven’t secured the top spot in bare knuckle and actually, you can say that they don’t even have that spot. While BKFC has done their thing, BKB has been hard at work securing that top spot in the world of bare knuckle boxing.
BKB Toping the Bare Knuckle World
BKB’s history dates back to 2015 and they’ve been around for a few years longer than BKFC. In 2024, BKB became the largest bare knuckle promotion in the world when there was a merger between BYB Extreme which was a US based promotion and BKB which originated in the UK.
While BKFC has been working to secure media rights, it’s BKB that has global broadcast reach across premium linear television and they’ve become the most-viewed live sports property on TikTok.
TikTok is becoming a major player in the sports streaming world and recently it was announced that Jake Paul’s MVP promotions is going to be streaming Amanda Serrano’s next title defense on the app.
BKB has really aimed at legitimacy through boxing and their roster is really solid which has included the likes of Lee Selby, Paulie Malignaggi, Victor Ortiz, Yuriorkis Gamboa, the Vargas brothers, JoJo Diaz, Jade Masson-Wong, Alfredo Angulo, John Molina Jr., Lucas Browne, Cub Hawkins, and Marko Martinjak.
BKB also possesses the Police Gazette Diamond Belt which is widely recognized as the first championship belt awarded in American combat sports. Opposed to creating their own championship, the promotion has this title which dates back to the late 1800s.
In terms of the action, both promotions really deliver a solid product with solid pacing. That said, what’s remarkable about BKB is their Trigon ring which really forces the action and contributes to their near 90% finish rate which is almost unheard of in combat sports.
Simply put, if you want to watch knockouts, it’s the promotion for you. In speaking to members of the BKB team, they are really working hard behind the scenes to build up their name and while they’ve historically really focused on boxing names, they are starting to also look at names with an MMA base.
Recently, the promotion signed former UFC and PFL contender Aspen Ladd to a deal. Ladd had fought once in BKFC and now she’s making the jump over to BKB. BKB also recently signed executive Loren Mack who has a long history with the UFC, ONE FC, and the PFL as their CMO and Executive VP of Strategy.
With that signing, I can promise you’ll likely see more big MMA names start to trickle over to the promotion. In MMA, the UFC is the clear-cut number one promotion and no matter what the PFL or any other promotion does, the UFC will never be surpassed.
That said, Bare Knuckle Boxing is really up for grabs and while BKFC has felt like it’s been in the spotlight more in the United States over the past few years, I really feel like they are not in the drivers seat currently and that spot belongs to BKB
TTT
Yea after they joined with BKB in the UK they pretty well solidified that market as their own.
BKFC keeps going back there and putting on good cards, but BKB has been the main dog over there for years.
Smart move on Dada/BYB part.
WOW
Good Stuff kaBOOM
Never knew thats why !!
I can’t stand the tri-gon personally. I havent watched either in a few months but I remember thinking BKB felt a little more professional though. I enjoy both.
David Feldman is a terrible promotor. They should have never let Perry walk away, McGregor wont save the company, Lindsay Lohan’s Dad wont save the company, Freak-Show Fights & UFC castaways doing one-offs wont do BKFC any good.
I watched BKB few times; and to me it feels like a regional (small time) .. very low production value. Plus I don’t think the fighters there re as good as the fighters in BKFC
I like the BKB ring. Combat sports needs a new design altogether in my opinion. One where the ropes and corners don’t block the view from floor seats would be nice.
have to agree dawg
I like both. The trigon is cool imo. BKFC does a lot of dumb shit. Like give former UFC fighters title fights before their own home grown prospects that are on long unbeaten knockout streaks like Perdomo. They need better promotion. Perdomo is a promoters dream, yet they put their stock in over the hill Arlovski.
The Trigon takes all the skills away since the fighters cant even move. I prefer BKFC by a long shot.
we got you