BKFC News

Cole Shelton - May 5, 2023

Ben Rothwell is glad he was able to go a couple of rounds at BKFC 41. Rothwell was supposed to take on Josh Watson after his upset knockout win over Greg Hardy, but unfortunately, that fight never happened. Luckily for Rothwell, Josh Copeland stepped up which he was pleased with as he said it was a more anticipated fight.

Josh Evanoff - April 4, 2023

Don’t expect to see Francis Ngannou in BKFC anytime soon. ‘The Predator’ is still searching for his next home in combat sports. Ngannou famously left the UFC in January after fighting out his contract with the company. In the process, he vacated the heavyweight title which was later won by Jon Jones last month at UFC 285.

Josh Evanoff - August 31, 2022

Former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva has announced his retirement from MMA. ‘The Axe Murderer’ is one of the most terrifying fighters in the history of the sport. The Brazilian first began his career in 1996. He soon became one of the faces of the International Vale Tudo Championship and captured the light-heavyweight title in 1999.

Cole Shelton - June 15, 2022

Greg Hardy has signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Hardy fought out his UFC contract at UFC 272 against Serghei Spivac which he lost by first-round TKO. After being let go, Hardy said he was eager to test free agency and has even signed on to make his pro boxing debut in October, but has also inked a deal with BKFC which promotional President David Feldman is excited for.

Harry Kettle - April 22, 2022

Frank Tate secured a brutal knockout win last night over Joey Beltran in the main event of BKFC Fight Night in Fort Lauderdale. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, bare-knuckle boxing has enjoyed quite the resurgence over the course of the last few years. A string of promotions have worked hard to bring it back into the limelight but there aren’t many who have made as much noise as BKFC.

Harry Kettle - March 29, 2022

As per his manager, BKFC middleweight champion Thiago Alves is hoping to defend his belt against Mike Perry in June. While he may be known by many for his run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Thiago Alves has had a solid start to life in bare-knuckle boxing. After defeating Julian Lane via split decision in September 2020, Alves proceeded to beat Ulysses Diaz due to a doctor stoppage last summer to become the inaugural middleweight title holder in BKFC.

Josh Evanoff - February 23, 2022

Chad Mendes is coming off a spectacular win at KnuckleMania 2. Despite the victory, he remains uncommitted to his fighting future. The former UFC title challenger unretired in 2021 and was given clearance from the UFC to compete for BKFC. He quickly signed a three-fight deal with the promotion, and his debut was set for last week’s KnuckleMania card against Joshuah Alvarez.

Adam D Martin - September 30, 2021

BKFC President Dave Feldman confirmed that the future of women’s fighter Paige VanZant is “up in the air” following two straight losses. VanZant signed a lucrative free-agent contract with BKFC last year after her UFC contract expired, but so far, things have not gone to plan for her. VanZant began her BKFC career with a decision loss to Britain Hart earlier this year, before losing to Rachael Ostovich in her second BKFC fight. It now looks like with those two losses that VanZant believes that her heart might not be in the BKFC game and she is considering going back to MMA.

Adam D Martin - October 18, 2020

Women’s fighting star Paige VanZant will see her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut postponed until the new year. VanZant was one of BKFC’s big free-agent signings along with other former UFC fighters such as Thiago Alves and Hector Lombard. But VanZant was by far the biggest name of the bunch. The former top prospect in the UFC women’s divisions shocked the combat sports world when she decided to make the move from mixed martial arts to BKFC. Despite the dangers of BKFC when it comes to cuts, VanZant says she’s not worried.

Harry Kettle - September 4, 2020

Julian Lane has stepped in to fight Thiago Alves in the main event of BKFC 12 after veteran Phil Baroni dropped out. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship continues to serve as the leading promotion for bare knuckle combat, and at their upcoming September 11th show, they’re hoping to really cement their return with an event that blows fans away.

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

BKFC, an upstart bare knuckle fighting organization, has reportedly offered 53-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson a $20M deal. Tyson recently announced his intention to end his retirement for a handful of exhibition bouts. What really sent the combat sports world into a frenzy of excitement, however, was footage of the boxing legend hitting mitts with famed MMA coach Rafael Cordeiro. Even at 53, Tyson looked absolutely lethal.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2020

In 2019, at BKFC 6, Paulie Malignaggi stepped through the ropes for a bare-knuckle boxing match with MMA product Artem Lobov. Despite possessing far more pure boxing experience, Malignaggi lost a tight decision to his rival. Given the competitive nature of the bout, there was some talk of a rematch between the two. Speaking to BJPENN.com recently, Lobov confirmed that he was actually approached about competing in a boxing rematch with Malignaggi.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2020

After 14 years and 27 fights with the UFC, Thiago Alves found himself longing for a fresh start. So, when the promotion offered him a new deal after a pair of losses to Laureano Staropoli and Tim Means, he respectfully declined, and signed an exclusive contract with upstart bare knuckle promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) instead. “I’ve been in MMA for such a long time, I’ve been with the UFC for such a long time,” Alves told BJPENN.com hours after his signing with BKFC was announced. “I’m excited for a new stage. Anything new at this stage in my life is super exciting. I’ve been following BKFC for a little bit now, and I think it’s savage.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2020

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves is dropping his gloves and heading to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) ring. News of Alves’ move to BKFC was first reported by MMA Fighting, who spoke to the promotion’s president David Feldman.

Tom Taylor - December 13, 2019

Former Bellator middleweight champion and UFC welterweight contender Hector Lombard recently signed with upstart bare knuckle fighting promotion BKFC. On Friday, it was announced that he’ll make his debut with the promotion at BKFC 10 on February 15 in Miami, Florida, where he’ll take on fellow UFC veteran Joe Riggs. #BKFC10 main event just announced. @HectorLombard vs. @DIESELRIGGSMMA – February 15 in #Miami @bareknucklefc

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2019

On Saturday night, in the main event of BKFC 9, Artem Lobov and Jason Knight stepped into the ring for a second, gloveless scrap. While Lobov won a hard-fought decision in the pair’s first fight, Knight came out on top in the rematch, blasting his opponent with a fight-ending punch in round five. 5th Round KO for you WINNER Jason Knight!#BKFC9 pic.twitter.com/SQqFlXiY8d

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2019

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the upstart organization bringing bare knuckle scraps to the masses, has signed another high-profile MMA veteran: Hector Lombard. Lombard will compete in BKFC’s 185-pound middleweight division. His debut is not yet scheduled.

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2019

Shortly after former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi came up short to UFC veteran Artem Lobov in a bare knuckle bout at BKFC 6, he was criticized by MMA stars Ben Askren and Chael Sonnen. Both men made comments suggesting that perhaps boxers aren’t quite as skilled as we previously believed. Malignaggi has now responded to these criticisms with a challenge to both Askren and Sonnen. He encouraged the pair of MMA fighters to to give boxing a try if they think it’s so easy. He also added that they’re probably make more money doing so than they do in MMA.