David Feldman gets 100% real on BKFC's rise and bare-knuckle fighting promotion's status in combat sports world

Modified Apr 09, 2025 14:09 GMT

David Feldman (pictured) founded the BKFC and has spearheaded it since 2018 [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

David Feldman has put forth his honest take on the BKFC bare-knuckle boxing organization's rise. The BKFC founder and president also got honest about the organization's current status compared to other top-tier organizations in the combat sports dominion.

Feldman founded and launched BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship) back in 2018. The BKFC holds the distinction of being the first organization to hold an officially sanctioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States of America since the year 1889.

David Feldman and the BKFC brass, including combat sports megastar and UFC icon Conor McGregor, recently promoted two massive cards in Dubai, U.A.E., on April 4 and April 5. The BKFC 71 Dubai Day 1 card and the BKFC 72 Dubai Day 2 card took place in Dubai, eliciting considerable praise from many fans.

On SiriusXM's MMA Today, hosted by former UFC fighters Din Thomas and Alan Jouban, David Feldman discussed the rise of BKFC and more. He stated:

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"You know, it's crazy, man. Because I am getting tired. I am getting stressed. And I'm getting just burned out. At the same time, I keep just backing myself into a corner. You know? Let's throw this big-a** event. Let's do this big-a** event. Let's just do it. Because people talk about it, and it grows everything. I mean, right now, you know, I think our valuation, over the past year-and-a-half, has tripled. We're in a good spot right now."

Jouban then chimed in and alluded to the hypothesis that the BKFC is the second-best professional combat sports organization after the UFC. On being asked for his thoughts about this, Feldman responded by giving his honest assessment of BKFC's current standing in combat sports:

"Yeah. I think there's probably a boxing promotion - when we talk about all combat sports, I think you're gonna throw a boxing promotion in there at number two and probably put us in at number three. If we're talking MMA'ish promotions, I mean, everybody says it - I think we're just a solid number two."

Watch Feldman's assessment below (0:15):

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David Feldman and Conor McGregor's promotional campaign for the historic BKFC Dubai debut

BKFC president David Feldman has consistently maintained that the organization's association with MMA great Conor McGregor has tremendously benefitted the organization and its fighters. The consensus is that after McGregor was announced as BKFC's co-owner in 2024, the organization has experienced considerable growth.

Both Feldman and McGregor were notably engaged in a multipronged promotional campaign for the BKFC's historic debut in Dubai, U.A.E. Right from social media content to press conferences and interviews, the duo extensively promoted the events in Dubai.

An Instagram post by the BKFC, featuring David Feldman and Conor McGregor posing together, seemingly alluded to the Dubai cards' success. The statement in the post read:

"Hell of a debut this week in Dubai! We’re taking BKFC global, one country at a time!"

Check out the BKFC post featuring Feldman and McGregor below:

About the author

Johny Payne is a featured writer at Sportskeeda, specializing in MMA coverage. He also studies and trains in various martial arts, constantly seeking to enhance his combat skills, especially in unarmed combat. His love for writing about MMA stems from his appreciation of the sport as one of the purest forms of legal unarmed combat sports competition in this day and age. Johny has also covered pro wrestling in the past.

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Edited by Ritwik Kumar