Here is everything you need to know from David Feldman’s appearance on the Ariel Helwani show!
It’s January 8th, 2025, which means we are 17 days away from KnuckleMania V. It also means it’s a pretty good time for some news to drop on what the new year will bring with BKFC. Thanks to the Ariel Helwani show featuring David Feldman today, we have a TON of news to share with you. For the sake of Ariel Helwani’s show, I won’t spoil everything. If you have the time, you should watch his show.
But I will give the footnotes here.
$25 Million Tournament - “Done Deal”
The big one is the $25 million tournament that David dropped on everyone at the end of last year. We literally just wrote about how crazy that idea sounds at surface level. But according to Feldman it’s a “done deal.”
It will start around June after they’ve held four tryouts around the world to eventually select 64 fighters to compete in it. They will be a combination of rostered fighters and free agents. The purses for each fight will be uniform for every fighter and the purses will increase as the rounds get higher. The winner will win $15 million which is still a CRAZY number but Feldman said he has already got the funding for the tournament. It will likely be broadcasted on DAZN. It will take place across five continents and eight countries over a nine-ten month span. The location for the finals is still being bid on from multiple countries. The weight class(es) are still being determined.
Mike Perry is Back
Perry reportedly wanted to be on KnuckleMania but Feldman told him he wasn’t “needed.” That’s only because of how much Perry’s purse is, it would've been an unnecessary expense for this card. He is expected to fight either Robbie Lawler or Darren Till at the end of March or early April.
Conor McGregor is Still Here
Just to erase any questions or doubt on if anything has changed regarding BKFC & Conor McGregor, the answer is no. David said “we aren’t going to kick him while he’s down.”
WWE Storytelling
BKFC has apparently brought over a couple of former WWE storytellers to help “build their homegrown stars.”
Paige Vanzant is Back
Paige told David that she wants to have at least one more fight with BKFC and since she reportedly has one more left on her deal, she is expected to have at least one more fight with them.
KnuckleMania V
It is expected to break the attendance and gate records at the Wells Fargo Arena for any combat sport event that’s been held there.
It isn’t a PPV on DAZN.
DAZN will have 2 BKFC PPV’s this year.
Not Legal in Nevada or New York
Not yet at least. Still in communication with them. Legal and approved in 32 states so far. They are now aligned with the Association of Boxing Rules.
Conclusion
We may not have predicted correctly in regards to the tournament but in doing so, we have been given further evidence that we are right to assume 2025 will be the BIGGEST YEAR in bare knuckle history.
Top Photo Courtesy of BKFC.
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