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Tag: David Feldman

  • BKFC President David Feldman Says He Wanted To Give Out 12 Knockout Bonuses At BKFC 90

    BKFC President David Feldman Says He Wanted To Give Out 12 Knockout Bonuses At BKFC 90

    Darren Till overcame a knockdown to stop Aaron Chalmers in his BKFC debut at BKFC 90 in Birmingham, England on Friday night, while BKFC President David Feldman said he was disappointed he could not give out more knockout bonuses than the three or four he ultimately awarded.

    Feldman spoke at the post-fight press conference, where he confirmed an attendance of 7,492 at the Utilita Arena.

    “Really good night here in Birmingham. Got off to a bit of a slow start. Honestly was a little bit aggravated with some of the action and then the guys just started picking it up as the night went on.”

    On the knockout bonus structure that Conor McGregor had requested ahead of the event, Feldman expressed mild frustration at the final tally.

    “It’s kind of based on their purse so we’ll figure that out on Monday but, you know, I was hoping to, I wanted to give out 12 bonuses. But I’m only going to be able to give out three or four of them.”

    Rico Franco won the interim world welterweight championship in the main event. Feldman named Franco’s performance as Knockout of the Night and awarded Fight of the Night to George Thorpe and Leigh Cohoon.

    Till signed a three-fight deal with BKFC in April. His long-term goal remains a fight with Mike Perry.

  • BKFC President Guarantees Conor McGregor Will Compete in Bare Knuckle

    BKFC President Guarantees Conor McGregor Will Compete in Bare Knuckle

    BKFC president David Feldman is confident that Conor McGregor will step inside the squared circle before long.

    In April 2024, McGregor announced that he’d officially become part-owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, a fast-rising promotion featuring a slew of former UFC stars, including ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry, Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, Paige VanZant, and Yoel Romero. Almost immediately, speculation ran rampant as to whether or not ‘Mystic Mac’ would ever toe the line in BKFC despite still being firmly under contract with the UFC.

    With McGregor seemingly confirming to the world that he will compete on the UFC’s highly anticipated card at the White House in 2026, people are now once again wondering if the former champ-champ will ever trade in his 4oz gloves for a pair of hand wraps.

    “I think it depends on the outcome of the White House card, right?” Feldman told MMA Fighting of McGregor’s potential move from MMA to bare-knuckle. “If he wins the White House card, which I have every reason to believe no matter who he fights, he’s going to win because they’re going to match him… If he wins and looks good, he’s going to fight another fight.

    “And if that happens, then I would bet 100% he’ll fight for BKFC. Why wouldn’t he? What will he do for the valuation of the company? He’ll double or triple it, and then he just doubled or tripled his interest in this. That’s way more than he’s going to get fighting anywhere else.”

    Conor McGregor Claims He Will Fight Michael Chandler at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

    No official announcements have been made regarding who will compete in the nation’s capital next year, but McGregor seems confident that the event will host a long-awaited clash between himself and former Bellator champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler.

    The two were rumored to fight in December 2023 following their stint as opposing coaches on TUF 31 before the bout was officially booked for UFC 303. Unfortunately, the contest was scrapped after McGregor broke his pinky toe whilst training.

    Since then, it’s been a tumultous year for the Irish megastar. In late 2024, McGregor was found guilty of sexual assault, resulting in him losing millions of dollars in sponsorship deals. Then there was his failed bid at the Irish presidency.

  • BKFC President Claims Conor McGregor Interested In Winner of Mike Perry vs. Jeremy Stephens

    BKFC President Claims Conor McGregor Interested In Winner of Mike Perry vs. Jeremy Stephens

    Conor McGregor has been doing a lot of talking about the UFC White House card of late, but what if he returned to action outside the UFC?

    This is what was suggested by BKFC President David Feldman during a recent press conference to promote BKFC 82, which will be headlined by a King of Violence title clash featuring Mike Perry and Jeremy Stephens.

    McGregor had no showed the press conference, and Feldman suggested to Perry and Stephens it’s because he’s in training to face whoever wins their fight.

    “We were supposed to have my partner, my friend, Conor McGregor, was going to be here today, but he couldn’t make it last minute because he’s actually very, very focused,” Feldman said. “He’s focused because he said one of you two guys is probably his next fight.”

    Could Conor McGregor Face Mike Perry Or Jeremy Stephens In BKFC?

    McGregor, who became a part-owner of BKFC in April 2024, has previously teased about the idea of having a bout in BKFC, especially if he manages to fight out the two reported fights remaining on his current UFC deal.

    McGregor also has had a couple of spats with Perry since Perry’s loss in the boxing ring to Jake Paul last year.

    Of course, McGregor and Stephens also have a history, with the two having a face-off in January and Stephens being the target of McGregor’s infamous “Who the f*** is that guy?” remarks during a UFC 205 press conference in 2016.

    McGregor has not fought since his UFC 264 loss to Dustin Poirier, but he has recently been one of several fighters who have put their name in the bucket to compete on the UFC White House card in July 2026.

    Perry’s fight with Stephens will be his first in BKFC since defeating Thiago Alves at Knucklemania IV in April 2024.

    Stephens finished Eddie Alvarez at Knucklemania V this past January.

  • BKFC President On Potential Ben Rothwell vs. Francis Ngannou Fight: ‘[PFL] Don’t Want To Partner With Us’

    BKFC President On Potential Ben Rothwell vs. Francis Ngannou Fight: ‘[PFL] Don’t Want To Partner With Us’

    BKFC founder David Feldman isn’t holding much hope of the PFL allowing heavyweight star Francis Ngannou to answer Ben Rothwell’s recent callout.

    Rothwell has enjoyed a fruitful stint in bare-knuckle boxing since his lengthy tenure in the UFC reached its conclusion after 17 fights back in 2021. “Big Ben” has amassed a 4-0 record under the BKFC banner with nothing but knockouts.

    His latest victory was at last month’s KnuckleMania V event in Philadelphia, where the veteran heavyweight delivered an early Knockout of the Year candidate. A violent 36-second finish of Mick Terrill secured Rothwell the BKFC heavyweight title, and all eyes will certainly now be on the 43-year-old’s next outing.

    The American set his sights high during his post-fight press conference, dropping the name of former UFC champion and current PFL Super Fights titleholder Francis Ngannou as a desired opponent.

    During a recent interview with MMA Knockout, the BKFC president addressed that suggestion, explaining why he doesn’t see it as a possibility despite his promotion’s willingness to do business with rival organizations like the PFL.

    “That would be a fantastic payday for Ben Rothwell, and I wouldn’t be opposed to something like that happening,” Feldman said. “But I just don’t think the PFL are gonna do it.

    “UFC doesn’t need us, and all the rest of the promotions really don’t want to help us out because it’s just gonna help us get bigger and bigger. So, they don’t wanna do that,” Feldman continued. “They don’t wanna partner with us because they feel it’s gonna help us and not help them as much as it could because Francis Ngannou is a big name.”

    Ngannou has competed just once in the PFL since signing in May 2023, knocking out Renan Ferreira in quick time last October.

    Having previously fought Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in boxing, “The Predator” is expected to return to the ring for his next combat sports outing.

  • BKFC President Teases Riyadh Season Collaboration: ‘Conor Had A Great Meeting…’

    BKFC President Teases Riyadh Season Collaboration: ‘Conor Had A Great Meeting…’

    BKFC continues to be on the up, no doubt thanks to Conor McGregor, who became a part owner of the promotion earlier this year in April.

    The UFC superstar certainly brings a lot of eyes and attention to whatever he’s doing, which in turn gives the promotion a lot more bargaining power than they once had.

    With “The Notorious” now attached, they can look to expand into areas that wouldn’t have been possible without the profile that the Irishman brings to the table.

    In his latest public appearance that got fans talking online, McGregor was in attendance at Wembley Stadium this past weekend for the Riyadh Season-backed Joshua vs Dubois event.

    It appears that “The Mac” had some business to attend to after enjoying himself in London.

    David Feldman Says Conor McGregor Has Already Held Meetings About BKFC-Riyadh Season Collaboration

    In a recent interview on the Energized Show, BKFC founder David Feldman spoke about the promotion’s upcoming plans for the near future.

    Turki Alalshikh and the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority have been able to make a huge impact on boxing by making events bigger and better than ever before.

    If BKFC was able to get in on the act in any way, it could be huge for the growth of the promotion and the sport of bare-knuckle boxing as a whole.

    When asked about whether a collaboration with Riyadh Season would be possible at some point down the line, Feldman said that there may be an update on that not too far away.

    Feldman said that McGregor has already been in talks to try and make this happen.

    “Yeah, news coming. Conor had a great meeting with them yesterday. Fantastic news coming.”

    Read also: ‘Selfish’ UFC Told To Financially Compensate Michael Chandler For Conor McGregor Wait