Why Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Is Ready To Follow in UFCs Footsteps

Why Bare Knuckle Fighting
Championship Is Ready To Follow In

UFC's Footsteps
Three hundred years: That's how long it has been since James Figg of
England claimed the first-ever bare-knuckle championship, in 1719. He
went on to hold that title until his retirement in 1730. It was this form of fist
fighting that gave birth to the modern sport of boxing.
Enter 2019, and here we are again having a conversation about bare-
knuckle fighting. Many people have compared bare-knuckle fighting to
street fighting; the difference between the two is one simple thing: rules.
Still, bare-knuckle fighting is fighting in its purest form. Two men in a ring
standing just feet from each other going toe to toe with nothing protecting
them. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. No hand wraps. No padding. No
mercy. The fighters simply use a little gauze under the wrap that simply
protects their wrist and thumb. Everything else is exposed.
Professional bare-knuckle fighting was never legal under any federal or

state laws in the United States until Wyoming legalized the sport on March
20, 2018. Since then, Mississippi and New Hampshire have followed suit,
and five more states are expected to provide legal sanction within the next
six months.
Sound Familiar?
If this narrative sounds familiar, it's because it is. Another company faced

the same challenges in its early development when Zuffa LLC was founded
in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank
Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC) after they purchased it from the Semaphore
Entertainment Group. Fifteen years later, after it rebuilt, relaunched and
grew the brand into a global combat sport phenom, the UFC would be sold
for $4 billion to a group led by Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG.
So why am I telling you all of this? When Jason Knight's tooth hit the
canvas on April 6 in Mississippi, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship had
arrived. It was like watching a star being born in real time. In this case, it
isn't a person, it's a movement. The response to the main event between
Artem Lobov and Jason Knight was palpable. Everyone finally got it. This is
what they needed to see to understand what its founder has been telling
anyone that would listen, but I'll get to that in a minute.
Overnight Success
Well, sort of. This overnight success has been a decade in the making
behind the hard work and perseverance of Bare Knuckle Fighting
Championship founder and CEO, David Feldman. Feldman, a Philadelphia
native has roots in boxing, having boxed himself in addition to growing up
with father, Marty Feldman, who was a well-liked and well-known trainer in
Philadelphia prior to his passing in 2017.
Feldman's enthusiasm and belief in his mission are admirable. His intensity
and determination to make Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship a success
reminds me of Dana White in the early days of his UFC tenure. I asked
Feldman what inspired him to pursue bare knuckle. Feldman said,
I promoted a fighter in boxing named Bobby Gunn, who as a Gypsy would tell me
how they would do bare-knuckle fights in Scotland and England to solve family
disputes and bet on them. I started researching it and got really intrigued. So, I told
him I was going to do a real, legit one. I did a bare-knuckle fight in 2011 at Fort
McDowell Casino in Arizona. We sold it out and had almost one million people
attempt to purchase the event, but the paywall crashed. That’s when we knew it
could be big. We pushed for seven years, pitching 28 states, to no avail. Finally,
Bryan Pedersen, the chairman of the athletic commission in Wyoming gave us a
chance. On June 2, 2018, we made history by becoming the first legally, state-
regulated, bare-knuckle fighting company in US history.
History Repeating Itself
The last time I had this feeling was on April 9, 2005, when Forrest Griffin
defeated Stephan Bonnar to win the inaugural season of the
Ultimate Fighter. The fight was credited by Dana White as the "most
important fight in UFC history." I talked with famed cutman Jacob Duran,
better known as "Stitch" Duran in the world of professional fighting, who
remembers that night very well as he worked in Forrest Griffin's corner for
that fight.
Stitch, who had long stints with Pride Fighting Championship before going
exclusive with the UFC for 15 years, had the following to say about the
future of bare-knuckle, "It does follow the same parallel of the UFC and the
reason I say that is before, boxing people wouldn't talk about the UFC.
After the Griffin vs. Bonnar fight, everybody was asking me questions."
Stitch continued, "The same is happening now with Bare Knuckle Fighting
Championship after the success of the Lobov vs. Knight fight. Bare Knuckle
is a cutman's dream. Guaranteed work."
A Bloody Success
#BKFC5: Artem Lobov (@RusHammerMMA), Jason Knight (@Jasonthekid23) are

not actual human beings https://t.co/9cqpMEqzjV
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) April 7, 2019
The bottom line is that just as the UFC stole market share from a boxing
industry in the early 2000s that became complacent, the UFC can be
roadkill for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship that is providing a
platform for strikers that want to compete minus the kicking, grappling and
wrestling. It's also a place for boxers to reinvent themselves and fight more
often without the waiting periods they have to go through while under
traditional promotional agreements.
Just ask former world champion Paulie Malignaggi who is the first former
boxing world champion to take the leap and enter the bare-knuckle arena.
His encounter with Artem Lobov in advance of their June 21 showdown
already provided much of the passion and pre-fight animosity that is sure to
make their fight an instant classic.
Come to my city talking shit get smacked like a

bitch @bareknucklefc @RusHammerMMA pic.twitter.com/quxOXjmmqB
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) April 2, 2019
Big Opportunities
Feldman is currently in talks with the major TV networks and streaming
services that could become the home for Bare Knuckle Fighting
Championship. Major brands are already showing interest in getting in on
the ground floor because they know the potential this sport has and the
overall appetite for the combat space continues to grow worldwide. In 2018,
DAZN signed a $1 billion deal with boxing promotional company
Matchroom, boxing promotional company Golden Boy Promotions
engineered an 11-fight $365 million dollar deal with DAZN for Canelo
Alvarez, boxing promotional company Top Rank Boxing signed a seven-year
deal with ESPN consisting of 54 shows per year, and the UFC signed a $1.5
billion dollar deal with ESPN that includes both cable and streaming of its
events. Asia's juggernaut mixed martial arts promotional company One
Championship is about to enter the USA market this year and recently
boasted a Nielsen Sports worldwide viewership in excess of 41 million
people for their most recent event in Tokyo. Add sponsorship, merchandise
and a plethora of licensing opportunities, Bare Knuckle Fighting
Championship is positioned to own its space and be able to obtain its share
of the combat sports category.
As states begin to provide legal sanction, more and more opportunities are
going to become available for fighters that want to be a part of the oldest
and newest combat sport. Knuckle up.

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Why Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Is Ready To Follow in UFCs Footsteps

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Why Bare Knuckle Fighting

Championship Is Ready To Follow In

Professional bare-knuckle fighting was never legal under any federal or

If this narrative sounds familiar, it's because it is. Another company faced

History Repeating Itself

#BKFC5: Artem Lobov (@RusHammerMMA), Jason Knight (@Jasonthekid23) are

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) April 7, 2019

Come to my city talking shit get smacked like a

— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) April 2, 2019

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