2 talking about this. When Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships launched just over two years ago, company founder and president David Feldman predicted that fight fans would fall in love with the sport. Russias doing some smaller leagues over there and I have TV rights deals over there so were going to be doing an event in Russia soon. . That was a tremendous setback for those individuals and I feel really bad., But on that note we had to make something happen. I am a passionate person, Feldman said. Last week, an alleged business partner of BKFC President David Feldman filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia federal court to claim a piece of the action: 40% ownership in BKFC to be exact. Its simply something I believe has to be done, Feldman said in an interview with MMA Junkie. So, you know, it's a two-way thing that we're doing to develop this company right now. This weekend at BKFC 14, the promotion will feature a pair of high profile fights including a 155-pound championship bout between former UFC fighter Jim Alers as he takes on World Series of Fighting veteran Luis Palomino. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. This is an incredible thing that we are doing, and the only reason no one has done it before is that doing so requires a significant investment of time and money. Thats what makes them so special. Despite his considerations of discontinuing the promotion, he finally opted to stick with the original plan. You are still required to renew your free subscription. We have two very big either platform or network deals in talks right now and hoping to close that out within the next 30 to 60 days. For Feldmans full interview with Van Vliet, click below. Please check your email for a confirmation. A lot of guys might go I dont want competition I want competition. Waiting to find the greatest restaurant to celebrate at, as well as the nearest bridge to leap out of [laughs]. The ride has certainly been wild and crazy, but its also been an incredible experience that I could never have imagined when the idea for this project first came to me. Are you looking to expand into kickboxing and possibly jiu jitsu? So I think that it could fit in to todays society and they love it. All rights reserved. We are gaining new fans that have never watched combat sports before. Tom Shoaff at BKFC 34 on December 3, 2022, 1. def. They memorialized an agreement in writing, Stewart claims, but he does not have a copy. Then yes, Malignaggi vs. Lobov really turned a corner for us as far as getting us into the boxing world and the mixed martial arts world and put us in that mainstream category where some people were saying that it was the biggest fight of the summer for 2019. In the Squared Circle, which is a customized circular four-rope ring, each bout takes place in front of an audience. I have to tell you I stayed up for two nights in a row just thinking do I take the money? According to Forbes, plaintiff, Edward Stewart, and Feldman began discussing bare-knuckle events back in 2012. Growing up with his father and brother, Feldman said, plus the coterie of boxers who were in and out of the house, he had no choice but to get involved with fighting in some way. According to the plaintiff, Edward Stewart, he and Feldman began discussing the possibility of holding bare knuckle events back in 2012. David Feldman: Looking for the nicest restaurant to celebrate at and looking for the closest bridge to jump off of [laughs]. Many sportsbooks including BetOnlineare providing odds for the BKFC events including tonights Lobov vs. Knight main event in Biloxi. ONEs Chatri Sityodtong decided not to submit our final offer to Francis Ngannou after meeting. While Stewart does not appear to be in possession of a written contract, he claims Feldman sent a "Bare Knuckle, LLC., Event Partnership Agreement" identifying Stewart as a Member in advance of BKFC's inaugural event in Wyoming. We just didn't envision it this fast. Its not in his DNA. The same three or four employees have been working with me from the beginning of the companys existence. Founded Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in April 2018 and acted as its President ever since. How To Watch, Who Is Fighting & More! It was ultimately agreed that Stewart and Feldman would own 40% of the business each, with the remaining 20 % going to a third party, with Stewart providing financial backing, Feldman providing sweat equity, and the third party providing a well-known and respected fighting personality, according to the complaint. Feldman is not . Each fight takes place in a specialized circular four-rope ring, referred to as the "Squared Circle. BKFC 1, which took place on June 2, 2018, featured the first American sanctioned women's bare-knuckle fight in modern history. Oops. If bare knuckle fans didnt think it could get any better than BKFC 5, featuring the first bout between Lobov and Knight, Feldman followed it up with BKFC 6, getting former outspoken boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi and Artem Lobov to compete in in Tampa, Florida, the most recent state at the time to pass legislation approving bare knuckle fighting. David feldman bkfc net worth is estimated to be around $500K. I am a person who is driven, Feldman explained. Washington Family Magazine Justin Thornton died as a result of spinal injury suffered during his BKFC debut. Its action packed, fast paced excitement. Its fun, its exciting, its fast paced. We knew it as we were doing it but now we have data. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The event on June 22, which is available on pay-per-view, will feature 10 fights, though with bigger names than in the past. Definitely she was every bit as valuable to us as what we paid for her, so it worked for us. Since then, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Florida have all approved bare knuckle as a combat sport. Eighteen months to two years from now, were going to be a major major player in combat sports.. Bare Knuckle FC has a new majority stakeholder. The president of BKFC talks with Sporting News ahead of Saturday night's BKFC 10 event. The really great thing is that next Wednesday BKFC becomes part of the Association of Boxing Comiisioners. Thats been the bulk of his life since then. The popularity of the promotion has attracted many notable combat sports athletes who made their names in traditional boxing and mixed martial arts. Alves was stripped of the title in June 2022 after he and the organization were not able to reach agreement on new contract. You brought in Paulie Malignaggi and Ishe Smith from the boxing world and different notable UFC and Bellator guys from the MMA world? BKFC president David Feldman details the success of the recent KnuckleMania pay-per-view and praises Paige VanZant for her debut despite coming up short in a decision with talks already started on . Feldman promises thats just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the plans he has in place for BKFC as he continues to conquer new mountains in the combat sports space. that was the big question. Yes, other combat sports have the same tools, however, their infrastructure and value proposition is already so established that its hard for them to make dramatic changes to adapt to the consumer. We got to a point where were pretty well accepted among the combat sports community right now, and we needed to make a partnership that was going to take us to the next level, Feldman said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. Create more opportunities, more resources, more funding, more things like that to acquire some more fighters, take care of the fighters that are already there, and just create more opportunities for everybody.. I was offered a lot of money just last week to sell, Feldman said to Van Vliet. We're growing exponentially, only way faster than we ever thought we were going to be. Before the show takes place, BKFC president David Feldman satdown with Sporting News to look back at 2019, the growth of the organization and what type of competitors he's looking to bringin. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Why dont you start the discussion? I think that's really the thing that took us by surprise was how much the pay-per-view was pirated and how to combat that. Pay-per-view wrestling at least once a month. So, I think we're going to get one of two of them a lot faster than the other one. How To Watch, Who Is Fighting & More! If bare knuckle fans didn't think it could get any better than BKFC 5, featuring the first bout between . And by bringing in some of these bigger names and we're going to have more and bigger names by the end of the year. The fight lasted 15 rounds before Feldman emerged victorious, solidifying himself as one of the highest earners in bare knuckle boxing history. Right now, we're doing Florida again. Trillers first Triad Combat event, which pitted teams of MMA fighters against boxers with special rules inside a triangular boxing ring, was headlined by former UFC champion Frank Mir against boxings Kubrat Pulev. But there is always room for improvement of something different. He did his fight, which was a great fight against Roy Jones. No comments yet. He would tap it a little bit. Video: Fighters exploded cauliflower ear leads to TKO stoppage. Mike Perry is nursing an injury after the one he gave Luke Rockhold at BKFC 41 this past Saturday. David Feldman (brother) Damon Richard Feldman (born October 5, 1975) is an American businessman, boxing promoter, producer, and author. His brother, Damon Feldman, is the promoter of Celebrity Boxing. I feel so bad for everyone that lost their life or got seriously injured from this. It is a requirement that each fighter must start each round with their front foot on their scratch line. [12] His brother, Damon Feldman, is the promoter of Celebrity Boxing. What's so important about it is those local fans can now say that they've become fans and hopefully buy the PPV and watch whatever platform we're on in the future. I was just done, Feldman said. Credit social media, credit YouTube, credit streaming, credit what you like, but Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has done in less than a year, what its competitive sports took a decade or more to accomplish. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. [2][3][4][5], BKFC was founded in April 2018 and is presided over by former American professional boxer David Feldman. This ring incorporates elements of historical bare knuckle fighting by containing two scratch lines, three feet apart and in the middle of the ring. What does it mean to youthat you're starting to expand into different states? DN: I thinkreally going into this whole thing, we thought pay-per-view was, you know, Everybody's going watch it on pay-per-view.' But hes always loved fighting, from the inherent narratives to the way it can change peoples lives to the science of boxing, as he put it. Its a dream but its seeing everything come to fruition. Im not in it for the money, says the author. Thats how we were able to grow our fanbase., David Feldman: Right now, Im not going to say that its simple, but its a lot easier. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship presents its first event of 2020 with BKFC 10from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He continued to explain how the acquisition by Triller will not change how BKFC events are currently promoted, nor cause a change in broadcasting plans. So what does he like about it? But they see the fighters walk out of the ring fine, not carried out on stretchers, not groggy, they just walk out of the ring. Your email address will not be published. 2021 What an awesome time to be alive for a Combat Sports fan. He has worked for the Jewish Exponent since 2018. I would do two simple things. He just moves forward and he fights. 2. def. It was certainly a gamble at the time considering the kind of resistance mixed martial arts faced for years after being banned in numerous states in the U.S. not to mention countries around the world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW. Home Services Magazine Founder and president of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship David Feldman said in an interview with Chris Van Vliet that he was recently offered a generous amount of money to sell the promotion . Our team is getting bigger and better and better. Were doing an event in Thailand in December. Baltimore Style Its also providing fighters with another outlet after their mixed martial arts and boxing career to still compete in a combat sport thats arguably safer and more exciting than anything else currently out there. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Its a different presentation to what I was presenting without any experience under my belt. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Founder and president of BKFC David Feldman. The fans love it and the fighters love it., David Feldman: Absolutely. It took seven years for Feldman to convince one state, Wyoming, to legally sanction and apply regulations to a bare-knuckle fight and, on June 2, 2018, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 1: The Beginning featured 12 fights. In fact just recently Polands KSW promoted a bare-knuckle style main event featuring former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. BKFC was founded in 2018, bringing sanctioned bare-knuckle boxing events to the U.S. for the first time since the late 1800s. The event on June 22, which is available on pay-per-view, will feature 10 fights, though with bigger names than in the past. Pro wrestling almost every evening. The growth of it and how far its gone so fast is amazing but I really think were going to be a real big competitor in the combat sports landscape here probably in another 18 months. Look, it might not be a life-changing experience for them, but it might be in that moment, Feldman added. Once I can make a difference in their lives while also making a difference in my own, and leave money for the next generation, I know it is time to depart. By then, I am confident that we will have successfully changed the attitudes of a significant number of individuals.. They both have a killer instinct as you saw with Jim Alers jumping off in each and every one of his fights trying to crack the guys. What he is most remembered for in the world of mixed martial arts, especially to fans of the major promotion companies that grow in popularity each year, is a comment he made in 1996. Because these men and women go in there and battle their butts off each and every time, lets give them a little something to say thank you for your efforts.. We are giving the fans something great, the fighters are fighting their asses off. This is referred to as Toe the Line, and it is an instruction given to the fighters at the beginning of each round, followed by "Knuckle Up" which signals the beginning of the round. BKFC president David Feldman had an idea that fight fans would fall in love with bare-knuckle competition but even he couldn't have predicted the response the sport has received globally. The upstart promotion has since held nine more events giving fans such notable scraps as Joey Beltran vs. Tony Lopez 1 and 2 and Conor McGregor protg Artem Lobov vs. Jason Knight 1 and 2 as well as a Lobov grudge match with former boxing champion and one-time McGregor sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi. Justin Barrasso. DF: I mean, in all honesty, this is what we envisioned. [17], 1. def. It also creates a sense of urgency going into the final round if one fighter has been knocked down in a previous round, or it's obvious that a fighter is down on the scorecards or if it's two rounds a piece going into the fifth round. After deciding to stick to his guns, Feldman is now focused on executing BKFC 19, which is headlined by former UFC strawweights Paige Van Zant and Rachael Ostovich. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has not only survived but thrived during the pandemic. It took seven years for Feldman to convince one state, Wyoming, to legally sanction and apply regulations to a bare-knuckle fight and, on June 2, 2018, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 1: The Beginning featured 12 fights. The bare knuckle or the knee? They would all say the knee. Ultimately the answer was no. Then I would also imitate smashing my knee into someones head. We've always given to the fans and we will continue to do that. Perry took the win by TKO. Gunn is a Canadian from an Irish Traveller family, an itinerant people within Ireland who have a long history of bare-knuckle fighting. We are the new kid on the block. For each BKFC battle, money will be deposited in a pension account, from which they will be able to collect when they reach the age of retirement.. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) boss David Feldman says he's in advanced talks with Shaquille O'Neal over an investment deal.. David Feldman: It was a building year. Thats definitely sitting on an island somewhere. Bare Knuckle FC has a new majority stakeholder. Why Do Women Prefer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Over Other Martial Arts? We do not share data with third party vendors. On Wednesday, the founder of the promotion, David Feldman, announced that Triller, a social media company that has expanded into the promotion of boxing and other combat sports, has acquired a majority stake of BKFC. BKFC 1, which took place on June 2, 2018, featured the first-ever womens bare-knuckle bout sanctioned by the United States Boxing Federation in contemporary history. We think we're about two years ahead of the plan right now. Everything about it was real. Then we just moved on to September, October, November, December. He graduated from Marple-Newtown High School, and attended Delaware County Community College and Temple University both in the midst of his professional fighting career. Your email address will not be published. Enter your email address to receive exclusive content from CVV! I think by the end of 2020, mid-2021, is where we become a legitimate player in combat sports. "Feldman claimed that the events lost substantial money," according to the complaint. How fast this would grow and the kind of recognition and acceptance that we got so fast. On July 24, 2020 it was announced that starting on August, DAZN will be streaming BKFC events. She was the most expensive fighter that we ever had, on the most expensive card, and we brought in the most revenue. 2. def. And then next month, we do Wichita, Kansas. Although tonight the bare knuckle fan base will be focused on Lobov and Knight, the man in the middle of the photo below, David Feldman cant be overlooked. Sometimes, they have stick with the path theyve paved while BKFC has been able to still mold its identity from show to show. Stewart subsequently purportedly received $26,500 worth of payments from Feldman, "allegedly for a return on Stewart's ownership of 40% of BKFC." Fredericks Child Born October 4, 1970, Broomall, Pennsylvania, United States. [7] BKFC recognizes the Police Gazette champions, and they may defend their titles within this promotion. You have entered an incorrect email address! And on that same shows where we're building our undercard, we're building our future stars. I dont mean we overpaid what her value to us is, I mean we overpaid her compared to what other people were going to pay her. All the stress, I cant spend as much time with my family. Which brings us to bare-knuckle fighting. We'd love to be in Nevada and New York. His . I feel closer to those that lost their livelihoods. Bare Knuckle FC boss David Feldman: Fighter pension plan 'something I think had to be done' Share this article share tweet text email link John Morgan. Until I can change their lives and change my life at the same time, leave money for the next generation, thats when I know it is time to go. McCain eventually recanted the sport had cleaned up, he said but the phrase remained. Mike Richman at KnuckleMania 3 on February 17, 2023. We market the way we want to market, we use some fighters from mixed martial arts and from boxing. As 2020 nears, Feldman and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship continue to trend upwards. We know what the fans want. Feldman is still looking to get into Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Montgomery Magazine Sign up for the
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