BKFC To Launch Pension Plan For Fighters

BKFCBare Knuckle FC (BKFC) is launching a pension plan for its fighters. The news was announced by promotion officials on Thursday and will take effect as of the BKFC 17 card taking place April 30 in Birmingham, Alabama. “Our fighters are the most important asset of the company,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said in a […]

BKFC

Bare Knuckle FC (BKFC) is launching a pension plan for its fighters.

The news was announced by promotion officials on Thursday and will take effect as of the BKFC 17 card taking place April 30 in Birmingham, Alabama.

“Our fighters are the most important asset of the company,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said in a prepared statement sent to MMA Fighting. “We want to ensure that they are compensated not only on the night of the fight, but also looked after in retirement. For each BKFC fight, money will be placed in a pension account for them to draw on upon retirement.

“BKFC is the hottest, fastest growing and most exciting sport in the world, and we want to ensure that our fighters are taken care of in every possible way.”

As per Feldman, only fighters with multi-fight deals are eligible for the pension plan.

Additionally, payments will only be received by the fighters after they retire from fighting or a mininum of five years have passed since BKFC have made any contributions.

“I did that for a reason,” Feldman added. “I’ve been in this sport for a long time and I’ve seen my dad put a lot of money away for fighters in the past and they did everything they could to break it. A lot of them went broke.

“That’s why we put a minimum of five years on it, so they have it and they’re not just going to go out and blow it. They’re going to have it when they need it.”

All said and done, it’s certainly a great initiative which many of the top MMA organizations could follow.

What do you make of this move by BKFC?

Paige VanZant Suffers Defeat To Britain Hart In BKFC Debut

VanZantFormer UFC Fighter Paige VanZant has made her highly anticipated debut in Bare Knuckle FC earlier tonight against Britain Hart and after five back and forth rounds Hart emerged victorious. Early in the fight, the pair had a competitive few rounds until Hart began to lead the dance putting VanZant on the back foot and […]

VanZant

Former UFC Fighter Paige VanZant has made her highly anticipated debut in Bare Knuckle FC earlier tonight against Britain Hart and after five back and forth rounds Hart emerged victorious.

Early in the fight, the pair had a competitive few rounds until Hart began to lead the dance putting VanZant on the back foot and landing better shots. In the fifth round, VanZant landed some big shots and appeared to have Hart hurt, however, it wasn’t enough to win the fight.

After the five rounds the decision went to the judges scorecards and all three judges scored it 49-46.

This was Hart’s fourth Bare Knuckle Boxing fight with a record of 2 wins 2 losses.

Vanzant left the UFC after suffering a loss to UFC Flyweight contender Amanda Ribas.

Following this defeat there were questions of where VanZant would end up, with many top organizations circling the rumor mill, however, ultimately she found her home in Bare Knuckle FC.

Paige VanZant’s Bare Knuckle Boxing Debut Postponed For 2021

VanZantPaige VanZant’s bare knuckle boxing debut will no longer be taking place this year. VanZant recently signed with Bare Knuckle FC (BKFC) following her release from the UFC in July and was slated to make her debut in November. However, as per MMA Fighting, that is no longer the case as her debut has now […]

VanZant

Paige VanZant’s bare knuckle boxing debut will no longer be taking place this year.

VanZant recently signed with Bare Knuckle FC (BKFC) following her release from the UFC in July and was slated to make her debut in November.

However, as per MMA Fighting, that is no longer the case as her debut has now been pushed back to February 2021. The report adds that VanZant still doesn’t have an opponent as of yet.

VanZant’s last outing with the UFC came at UFC 251 when she was submitted by Amanda Ribas. In total, she went 5-4 with the promotion and holds wins over the likes of Rachael Ostovich, Felice Herrig and future BKFC champion Bec Rawlings.

As for why she decided to venture into the brutal sport of bare knuckle boxing, VanZant claimed she wanted to prove she wasn’t just a pretty face.

“It was an amazing contract, an amazing opportunity,” VanZant said in August. “I also feel like it’s not a move backwards for me. It’s a lateral move to a new opportunity, a new challenge, a brand new sport. I really have sparked a brand new passion for it and especially for striking in general.

“And, on top of that, I feel like I still have this stigma in MMA that I’m just a pretty face, and what a way to prove to people that’s not the way I see myself at all. This is a sport where people probably have the highest rate of getting cut open and having long-term scars is definitely something that I’m not even worried about for me. It’s just the love of competition and I’m really excited to go out there and show off in such an amazing sport.”

It won’t be long until she eventually makes her BKFC bow.

Who do you think VanZant should fight?

Paige VanZant’s BKFC Debut Targeted To Take Place In November

Paige VanZantPaige VanZant is expected to make her BKFC debut on November 14. VanZant left the UFC after her UFC 251 loss to Amanda Ribas to sign with the sans gloves promotion. It was expected she would have her debut fight later this year and now David Feldman says it will take place on November 14 […]

Paige VanZant

Paige VanZant is expected to make her BKFC debut on November 14.

VanZant left the UFC after her UFC 251 loss to Amanda Ribas to sign with the sans gloves promotion. It was expected she would have her debut fight later this year and now David Feldman says it will take place on November 14 on a stacked card with two title fights.

“It should be the debut of Paige,” Feldman told MMA Fighting about her debut with the card currently expected on Nov. 14. “I know she was sick recently, so we’re going to see if she’s going to be able to get back into training, or if we have to push it.

“That will also be Jim Alers vs. Luis Palomino and Johnny Bedford vs. Dat Nguyen. So we’re going to have at least two world championship fights on that card and I think we’re also going to have a women’s championship fight on that card as well. It’s going to be a tremendous couple months for us.”

Feldman is quite excited for this card as he knows it will be a massive one.

“It’s going to be sick,” Feldman said about the November card. “We’re so looking forward to that one.”

Although VanZant had COVID-19, her manager Abe Kawa says the worse case scenario is she fights in December. But, November is the targeted date.

“She’s doing better – she’s feeling way better,” Kawa said regarding VanZant’s health. “It looks like it’s going to be November. Worst case scenario it will be December, but it’s really going to be more up to if the team feels she’s ready for the fight and picked up all the bare-knuckle boxing nuances, that she’s learned how to do all that and gets it. But November’s the time frame.”

Currently, no opponent has been announced for Paige VanZant’s BKFC debut.

Will you be watching Paige VanZant’s BKFC debut?

Anthony Johnson Talks UFC Return At BKFC 12 Press Conference

Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson is finally making his return to the UFC octagon after over three years away, despite how he feels about fighters not knowing when to walk away. The former two-time UFC light-heavyweight title challenger retired after his second defeat to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in April of 2017. Since retiring, Johnson began […]

Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson is finally making his return to the UFC octagon after over three years away, despite how he feels about fighters not knowing when to walk away. The former two-time UFC light-heavyweight title challenger retired after his second defeat to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in April of 2017.

Since retiring, Johnson began bodybuilding, and not long after became an ambassador for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). But now he’s got the itch again, and at 36-years-old, he doesn’t have much time left to make a comeback. More or less, now’s the perfect time.

The one very unfortunate thing about this however, Jon Jones announced he’s vacating his UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship, and that’s one dream fight we never got to see.

‘Rumble’ was supposed to face Jones for the title at UFC 187 in May of 2015, but this was one of the many times Jones got suspended, and he ended up facing Daniel Cormier instead. We’ve seen twice that Cormier’s the better man, but he’s not around anymore either, and Johnson’s the scariest light-heavyweight this sport has seen.

That doesn’t mean he’s the most technical or best fighter out there, but the pure raw power he possesses is truly scary. Of his 22 wins, he has 16 knockouts and six decisions, and ten of those knockout wins were KO’s. Better yet, he went 6-2 in his recent return to the UFC and scored five knockouts with four KO’s then, with the only TKO being over Alexander Gustafsson.

His manager, Ali Abdelaziz announced that he’s back in the USADA testing pool, which means he’ll be eligible to compete soon.

If he can come back at his best, it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see what happens, the 205 lb division is thriving beautifully right now. When asked at the BKFC 12 press conference earlier today why now is the right time to return to the UFC, ‘Rumble’ had the following to say on the matter:

“Honestly, I missed the sport, you know what I mean? I missed the sport, I miss competing. So I knew at one point, I was against guys coming back from retirement. You know, you usually see them get mopped up. You know, BJ Penn came back and got mopped up. I’ve seen everybody that came back out of retirement get mopped up.

“I just don’t wanna be one of those guys that gets mopped up, but I still feel good, I have no injuries. While I was in the UFC, I didn’t really get hit much unless I lost, and that wasn’t often. But, you never know. You know, I got a couple more fights on my contract with the UFC, and then after that you know, I may fight for Dave (Feldman).”

Who would you like to see ‘Rumble’ fight upon returning to the octagon?

Paige VanZant Wants To Prove She’s Just Not A ‘Pretty Face’ With BKFC Move

VanZantThere were a number of reasons why Paige VanZant decided to make the transition to bare knuckle boxing. It was announced on Wednesday that the former UFC women’s flyweight had signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle FC. Many were surprised with the move, especially given the brutal nature of bare knuckle fighting which tends […]

VanZant

There were a number of reasons why Paige VanZant decided to make the transition to bare knuckle boxing.

It was announced on Wednesday that the former UFC women’s flyweight had signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle FC.

Many were surprised with the move, especially given the brutal nature of bare knuckle fighting which tends to lead to plenty of cuts and facial damage.

But that is one of the very reasons why she decided to go ahead with the move among other factors.

“It was an amazing contract, an amazing opportunity,” VanZant told ESPN. “I also feel like it’s not a move backwards for me. It’s a lateral move to a new opportunity, a new challenge, a brand new sport. I really have sparked a brand new passion for it and especially for striking in general.

“And, on top of that, I feel like I still have this stigma in MMA that I’m just a pretty face, and what a way to prove to people that’s not the way I see myself at all. This is a sport where people probably have the highest rate of getting cut open and having long-term scars is definitely something that I’m not even worried about for me. It’s just the love of competition and I’m really excited to go out there and show off in such an amazing sport.”

VanZant Spoke To A Number Of Promotions

It was notably revealed that VanZant declined an offer with Bellator to sign with BKFC.

However, she was speaking to a number of other promotions ever since she completed the final fight of her UFC deal last month.

In the end, BKFC was what made the most sense for her.

“I talked to a lot of different promotions,” VanZant added. “I actually had no idea that I would have so many come with such big offers. I knew I would get the big players in the game, like Bellator or ONE, but I actually had five or six huge, solid promotions that I had to decide on.

“For me, at this moment in my career, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship was the one that fit best.”

What do you make of VanZant’s decision?