Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has a new majority stakeholder.
On Wednesday, the founder of the promotion,David Feldman, announced Triller, a social media company that has expanded into the promotion of boxing and other combat sports events, has acquired a majority stake of BKFC.
BKFC was founded in 2018, bringing sanctioned bareknuckle boxing events to the United States for the first time since the late 1800s. The popularity of the promotion has attracted many notable combat sports athletes who made their names in traditional boxing and mixed martial arts. A number of UFC veterans have tested their skills under the BKFC banner including Mike Perry, Chad Mendes, Artem Lobov, Bec Rawlings, Paige VanZant, Rachael Ostovich, and many others.
“We got to a point where we’re 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 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.”
Feldman stated the combat sport is currently legal in 14 states, with the goal of reaching 22 by the end of 2022. 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.
“Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship will remain as-is,” Feldman stated. “We will be self-sustained as far as operations continue, the fighters, everything. Nothing is really going to change in the operations of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, we’re now just going to have more assets, more resources, and more possibilities.”
Triller has hosted a number of boxing events and special rules combat sports events like Triad Combat since entering the fight game in 2020. The company promoted pay-per-view events featuring legends of boxing and MMA, creating matchups such as Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. and Vitor Belfort vs. Evander Holyfield.
Triller’s 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 boxing’s Kubrat Pulev.
