Cody Greenlee 
If you’re a fan of MMA or boxing, there’s no doubt at some point in time you have pondered the question. What if they didn’t have gloves? Which is natural. Wondering how schoolyard fisticuffs would look with professionally trained competitors. Founder David Feldman had the same question when he set out to legitimize bare knuckle fighting. Feldman being a former professional himself would be well aware of the obstacles in his way but after founding the company in April of 2018, BKFC had its first event in June of that same year. In Cheyenne, Wyoming. It would be the first legal, sanctioned event of its kind in America since 1889. Adopting mainstay regulations based on the Broughton Rules. (Which regulated bare knuckle fighting in the 19th Century.) Fighters would have to “Toe the line” and begin the bout only inches away from each other. Which I thought was the coolest thing in the world when I first heard about it.
Only this time instead of scrapping in a circle of people with your sleeves rolled up, like in the movies, they would have it in a circular ring and insist fighters wear cups, mouthpieces and wrist protection. 10 second knockdown count. The whole 9 yards in terms of safety. The modern rules themselves were also very well thought out. Allowing a level of clinch work under specific terms. You can punch your way out with your free hand. Every strike must be a closed fist. If there is a 3-second pause in the action, the referee will separate. Which makes locking your hands around your opponent a very powerful way to recover and get some space while also making uppercuts from a single collar tie a new devastating standard from that position.
They have had 34 events so far and each one is more exciting than the last. The talent pool is getting better and better. With former boxing and UFC stars added to the roster all the time. It’s always a fun night when BKFC comes to town. Looks like their latest blockbuster showcase is going to be Michael “Venom” Page VS. Platinum Mike Perry. It’s awesome to see some cross-promotion between companies, as it appears MVP has the blessing of Bellator to compete sans gloves. With Pages’ 2-0 pro boxing record coupled with his eclectic style. This should be a fantastic fight. Perry has already had his debut outing with the organization where he bested Julian Lane to a decision. In his stint in the UFC he always came to fight and was never in a boring bout. We’ll see if Mr. Perry can handle everything MVP has in his bag of tricks on August 20th at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 27.
I’m so excited to watch BKFC continue to grow. It has been a breath of fresh air in a space that has largely remained the same for so long. Fills my heart to see BKFC and other organizations really try to offer something different to fight fans. PFL with its unique scoring system. ONE
championship with its hybrid ruleset bouts or Bellator allowing its fighters to compete where they want without having to resign with the company. I really love the direction the fight world is headed in.
Bareknuckle, Fighting, Mixed martial arts
Black Belt Magazine
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