Inside BKFC’s big bet on Britain: How David Feldman turned bare knuckle from bar fight to box office
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship takes the bloodiest show in town to the AO Arena in Manchester, England, for a Saturday event promising big things.
BKFC founder David Feldman proclaimed in May that the event would be “the biggest card” in the promotion’s history. Bigger, even, than its annual KnuckleMania event.
“We’re selling the same amount of tickets” as the best boxing events that “the legendary AO Arena” has ever held, Feldman told Uncrowned during fight week.
If true, that puts BKFC 94 — which features Darren Till against Yoel Romero in the main event — in the same conversation as Ricky Hatton vs. Kostya Tszyu, Joe Calzaghe vs. Jeff Lacy, and Carl Froch vs. George Groves. All iconic fights, with few leaving the venue disappointed.
So, what does that say? “It says BKFC can hang with the big players,” Feldman said.
It’s a remarkable claim for a sport that, until recently, struggled for legitimacy.
Feldman played a central role in modernizing a sport once considered barbaric.
In the last 10 years bare knuckle became sanctioned at a state level after spending more than a century largely underground following the end of its first great era.
One of its last great spectacles was a 75-round bout between John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain. And that entire fight was one bloody mess.
It was completely illegal, fueled by a toxic media feud, and pushed both men to the brink because of a two-hour slog in 100-degree heat.
Sullivan was so distressed he vomited in the 44th round. Kilrain’s manager later threw in the towel. Both boxers were subsequently arrested and tried for illegal prizefighting.
The sport remained in an abyss for more than a century until Feldman came along and scored state approval from Wyoming in 2018. He has since successfully lobbied to legalize and sanction the sport across numerous U.S. states.
Today, there are appropriately nicknamed fighters like the “King of Violence” — former UFC combatant Mike Perry. But there are also those who practice a sweeter science, like Austin Trout, who used to be a world champion boxer. Two contrasting styles that are not out of place in BKFC’s circular ring.
Part of BKFC’s popularity in the United States has come from offering something different to the UFC, rather than attempting to become the de facto No. 2 MMA organization constantly in Dana White’s shadow.
But in recent years, there’s been a rise in other single-discipline organizations attempting to make grappling disciplines more spectator-friendly. There’s UFC BJJ, Craig Jones Invitational, and perhaps most notably, Real American Freestyle.
Those promotions might be a harder sell in Britain, which is renowned for hosting stadium fights in boxing rather than packing fans into arenas for freestyle wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
And so, as companies like RAF compete for attention in an increasingly crowded U.S. combat sports market, BKFC may have a sizable advantage across the pond, where the fans are thirsty for striking.
It’s a big bet. And it’s one Feldman believes will pay off.
BKFC 94 is the event that “accepts us” as a legitimate promotion in Britain, Feldman said. “We keep running the trending report on pay-per-view sales and it’s doing double what we thought it was going to do.
“The combat sports fans in the U.K. understand what BKFC is and [they] really love it.”
For Feldman, the reason is simple.
Unlike wrestling or jiu-jitsu, where one needs to be well-versed in the technical side of the sport, there is something raw about bare-knuckle boxing that everyone understands.
“Not everybody in the world likes to see wrestling,” he said. “Not everybody in the world likes to see grappling. But everybody in the world likes to see someone get punched in the face.”
Indeed.
And while Till-Romero sells the weekend show, Feldman’s bet on Britain runs deeper than its headliners. Middleweight champion David Mundell defends his belt against Jack Cullen, while Karl Thompson and Andy Thornton meet for the cruiserweight title.
You also need only look at BKFC’s upcoming shows to see just how big Feldman is betting not just on Britain, but internationally, too.
“After this event we have a show in Brisbane, Australia,” Feldman said. “Two weeks later, we’re back in Europe in Serbia.”
There are also shows in Poland and the Czech Republic before the year is done.
“I have a feeling that Poland’s going to be a great market for us,” Feldman said.
The goal isn’t simply to parachute BKFC into different countries for one-off events. Alongside the U.S., U.K. and Australia, Feldman wants to identify another three or four markets where the promotion can “plant our flag” and eventually stage four, six or even eight events per year.
The biggest wager, though, is perhaps to come.
Feldman said BKFC is in talks about potentially holding an event at Liverpool’s football stadium. Anfield is a historic soccer venue with a 61,276 capacity and six European championship titles in its trophy cabinet. Steven Gerrard and Bruce Springsteen have both played there. In the coming years, so too might BKFC.
The promotion even hosted a recent event at historic Fenway Park. Kai Stewart defended his featherweight title with a unanimous decision win over Harry Gigliotti.
Unusual venues have increasingly become part of the modern combat-sports arms race for spectacle. We’ve seen fists thrown at the Pyramids of Giza. And we’ve seen a show at the White House.
Stadium events are perhaps more common in Britain than the States, but Uncrowned has heard that BKFC has held talks with 10 different MLB teams and four NFL franchises regarding bare-knuckle fights at those venues. Feldman clearly wants to replicate the Fenway Park recipe.
“We’re going to do everything we can to climb outside our comfort zone,” Feldman said.
One thing BKFC has gotten comfortable doing is offering former UFC stars an outlet to showcase their skills away from MMA.
It worked well for Till, who lost five of his last six UFC fights but rebounded with a win away from the Octagon when he knocked out Aaron Chalmers in his bare-knuckle debut May 30.
It could also benefit Michael “Venom” Page, who left the UFC at 5-1 and on a four-fight winning streak but was still not re-signed following a decision victory that drew boos from the crowd. “We’re certainly talking to him,” Feldman confirmed to Uncrowned.
But BKFC will have to climb outside that comfort zone eventually. It can’t always rely on established fighters who built their names somewhere else. Nor is Feldman’s long-term plan simply to raid Cage Warriors or Britain’s boxing promoters for established talent.
Feldman wants the undecided.
“I think the pipeline to BKFC in Britain is going to come from fighters training right now who are not sure if they want to be a boxer or an MMA fighter,” Feldman said. “Maybe they’ve had a couple of boxing matches, maybe a couple of mixed martial arts fights. They’re not necessarily well-tenured in another organization, but they’re kind of undecided. And they go, ‘Wow, let me give bare knuckle a try.’
“This guy’s profile blew up. This guy made this kind of money. Everybody’s talking about it. This is what we’re going to be focusing on, really, over anything else.”
Page, despite his UFC pedigree, is a different kind of undecided.
“MVP might go to another MMA organization. Maybe he goes to PFL. I’m not talking bad about them, but who is going to give a s***? Nobody,” Feldman said. “But if he goes to bare knuckle, people will go, ‘Holy s***! MVP is fighting bare knuckle?’ That’s what they’re going to get excited about.”
And Page is hardly the only established name in Feldman’s sights.
Shortly after speaking to Uncrowned, Feldman said he was going to be talking with Perry’s team to try to get him to the AO Arena.
“There are two or three targets I have for Darren,” Feldman said.
One of those could be Perry, as Feldman previously said that a fight between him and Till was viable for February.
“Nobody is off the table for BKFC,” a bullish Feldman finished. “There’s nobody that we wouldn’t talk to. We have the backing to do whatever we need to do.”
First, though, Feldman’s biggest bet yet has to pay off in Manchester.
