Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship


Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official state sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event in America since 1889. Its first event was held in 2018, with 10 "numbered" events held as of Feb 2020. BKFC has featured notable talents such as Jim Alers, Artem Lobov, Ricco Rodriguez, Charles Bennett, Kendall Grove, Chris Lytle, Joe Riggs, Chase Sherman, Leonard Garcia, Eric Prindle, Joey Beltran, Bec Rawlings, Shannon Ritch, Bobby Gunn, Jason Knight, Johnny Bedford, Paulie Malignaggi and Chris Leben.

History

BKFC was founded in April 2018 and is presided over by former American professional boxer David Feldman. After first receiving approval to hold a sanctioned event in Cheyenne, Wyoming, BKFC held the first state sanctioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States since 1889. Each fight takes place in a specialized circular four-rope ring, referred to as the "Squared Circle". BKFC 1, which took place on June 2, 2018, featured the first American sanctioned women's bare-knuckle fight in modern history. The Bare-Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame recognized this milestone and awarded the victor of this contest, Bec Rawlings, with the National Police Gazette World Diamond Belt several days after her victory. BKFC recognizes the Police Gazette champions, and they may defend their titles within this promotion. At BKFC 3, Arnold Adams defeated Sam Shewmaker in the finals of an eight man tournament to be crowned as the inaugural BKFC Heavyweight Champion. This event also hosted the quarterfinals of a tournament to crown a Lightweight champion. In February, 2019, former UFC light heavyweight title contender Anthony Johnson announced that he will be joining the company in an administrative role.

Broadcasting partners

Initially, BKFC pay-per-view bouts were carried worldwide via FITE TV. On July 24, 2020 it was announced that starting on August, DAZN will be streaming BKFC events.

Unique Ring

BKFC holds all bouts in a circular four-rope ring, referred to as the "Squared Circle". This ring incorporates elements of historical bare knuckle fighting by containing two scratch lines, 3 feet apart and in the middle of the ring. These scratch lines are based on the Broughton Rules, which governed bare knuckle fighting in the 19th century. It is a requirement that each fighter must start each round with their front foot on their scratch line. This is referred to as “Toe the Line”, and it is an instruction given to the fighters at the beginning of each round, followed by "Knuckle Up" which signals the beginning of the round.

List of BKFC events

#EventDateLocationRef
11Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 11: Palomino vs. Vallie-FlaggJuly 24, 2020Oxford, Mississippi, U.S.
10February 15, 2020Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
9November 16, 2019Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
8Tampa, Florida, U.S.
7Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
6Tampa, Florida, U.S.
5Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
4Cancun, Mexico
3Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
2Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
1Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.

List of BKFC Events:
DivisionChampionSinceDefenses
Heavyweight Joey BeltranNovember 16, 20190
Lightweight Johnny BedfordJune 22, 20190

DivisionChampionSinceDefenses
World Heavyweight Bobby GunnFebruary 20160
American Heavyweight Chase ShermanAugust 10, 20190
American Lightweight Johnny BedfordJune 22, 20190
World Women's Featherweight Bec RawlingsJune 2, 20182
American Women's Featherweight Helen PeraltaAugust 10, 20190

Championship History

Heavyweight Championship

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Arnold Adams
def. Sam Shewmaker
Biloxi, Mississippi		October 20, 2018
2 Chase Sherman
Biloxi, Mississippi		August 10, 2019
3 Joey Beltran
Biloxi, Mississippi		November 16, 2019

Lightweight Championship

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Johnny Bedford
def. Reggie Barnett Jr.
Tampa, Florida		June 22, 2019

Tournament winners