Check out Bloody Elbow’s interview with Bare Knuckle FC founder/CEO David Feldman before his USA vs. Mexico event on February 2, 2019.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is geared up for its fourth event on February 2, 2019. This time, the promotion is headed to Cancun, Mexico for team U.S.A. vs. team Mexico. There are quite a bit of notable MMA fighters on the billing, such as Chris Lytle, Leonard Garcia, Joe Riggs, Bec Rawlings and more. Before Bare Knuckle FC 4 heads south of the border, Bloody Elbow caught up with the promotion’s founder/CEO David Feldman to discuss the company’s beginnings as well as the sport’s unique ‘toe the line’ feature. Feldman also explains why he thinks so many MMA fighters flock to Bare Knuckle, and whether or not we’ll see the return of bare knuckle MMA.
(Note: BKFC is not the same promotion as the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation)
- What sparked your passion and desire to start a bare knuckle league?
“It started a long time ago. I’ve been into boxing my whole life. I promoted boxing, I was a professional boxer myself. My dad’s in the Hall of Fame for training professional boxers. He trained seven world champions. So, it’s something I’ve been involved in my whole life.”
“We did it actually August 5, 2011. We did one bare knuckle fight on an MMA undercard on an Indian reservation and Indian casino in Scottsdale, Arizona. It did overwhelmingly well, over 5,000 people in attendance. Paid streaming was so new back then that the streaming actually broke, the payroll had broke. So, we didn’t get paid, but we were already on our way to over a million buys.”
“I saw what happened. We lost all the money, but I saw what happened. I said, ‘I got to make this happen.’ I just started pitching states and pitching states. It got to the point where I got beat up by a bunch of states. 28 states said no. I think it was at like the 25th state said no, I said, ‘I have to make this happen now. I don’t care if I make money, lose money, I don’t care what happens now. I have to make this happen.’ We pushed and found a great partner with Bryan Pederson out in Wyoming. Hats off to him for taking a shot on us, and we put on one hell of a show. Here we are on our fourth show going international and talking to some big people about some big things happening in 2019.”
- Why did you decide to go with the circular ring instead of a traditional boxing square?
“Our first design was actually a hexagon ring. So we were doing a hexagon shaped ring. Then as we were going through with some of the people involved with this, it could be a lot more easily confused for a cage. So, we did the circle ring. We designed it and we were like, wow this is unbelievable. This thing looks great.’”
“The key was to design something that you wouldn’t get mixed up for. So, if you were in a boxing ring and they were doing bare knuckles, they might get mixed up of they’re clicking by the channels and say, ‘ oh, it’s boxing.’ There’s no mistake here. People are going to stop and actually take a look at what it is. Part of the patent of the design is what we call ‘toe the line’ and have the lines in the center of the ring where the fighters start from. I think that’s the most unique part of the ring.”
- What was the idea behind the format of making guys start almost in the pocket, as opposed to coming out from their corners?
“Everything we did for this ring and everything we did in the ruleset, and everything we did with Bare Knuckle Fighting was actually designed for action. Designed so it would be action fights. So we made a circle ring, which you don’t have any corners to get trapped in. So, there’s always going to be action. We made them start off in a circle with two lines, three feet from each other. Two four-foot lines three feet from each other. If you just throw a punch from three feet, you can hit the other guy. So it was all about action.”
- Why do you think we see so many more MMA fighters flock to Bare Knuckle than traditional boxers?
“I think if they’re a really great Jiu-Jitsu practitioner or a wrestler, most of them won’t lean towards bare knuckle. But, we did have Kendall Grove, a well-established black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, and I’m sure we’re going to have more. I think a lot of these guys, it falls in between they know that they can really stand and bang, and they’re not really the grappler. So this is their opportunity to really become – right now I think it’s an opportunity to become an icon, a pioneer in a brand new sport where they get a chance to stand out, and they’re not mixed in with all the different MMA fighters that there are out there.”
- Do you think we’ll see the return of bare knuckle MMA?
“Absolutely. I know you will. As more and more of these states open up with this, I mean, it’s the next natural turn. People pitch us everyday, ‘why don’t you do Bare Knuckle MMA? Why don’t you do Bare Knuckle MMA. I think it sets us apart not doing Bare Knuckle MMA, but I know people are going to do it soon. Yeah, they’ll do it.”
- For someone who has never seen a Bare Knuckle event, what can they expect at your next show on February 2nd?
“Expect things, not really what your perception is going to tell you. This is not a backyard street fight by any means. This is very technical. The guys take their time in throwing punches. You will see a lot of blood. They do get cuts. On that note, you will not see a lot of broken hands. Who people think you would get a lot of broken hands. You will not see a lot of broken hands in this because they’re a lot more technical with what they’re doing, and they’re picking their punches.”
“What you will see, is non-stop action from bell to bell. All bouts are scheduled for five two-minute rounds. When you hear the sound of the knuckle hitting the skin, it’s like no other. It’s not like the glove; it’s just a whole different sound.”
- What does the future of Bare Knuckle look like?
“Looks like we’re going to have nine to ten fights this year. We already have the first-four planned out, going into June 1st. We have some talks with some big networks. That’s what I’m super-excited about. With only three fights in the bag, we’re making some noise and we’re opening some eyes, and people are opening doors for us. It’s exciting and people want to see it. “
Watch Bare Knuckle FC 4 from Cancun, Mexico on February 2, 2019. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for all of your combat sports event coverage including interviews, play-by-play, highlights, and more!