In a shocking move, BYB Extreme is now BKB!
News dropped earlier this week that the company formerly known as BackYard Brawl Extreme (BYB Extreme), has rebranded and will adopt the name Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB).
In May of last year it was announced that BYB had acquired BKB, the UK-Based Bare Knuckle Promotion, in a massive merger that shifted the entire world of bare knuckle. And now, nine months later, BYB will adopt their name, and enter this new chapter as a company.
As someone who follows the world of bare knuckle closely, this absolutely blindsided me. So, to get the low down on what exactly went into this, I made a call to BYB’s, now BKB’s, CEO Greg Bloom. When I asked him what exactly went into this massive move, he replied,
“It’s very simple, we started in the backyard and we built a name for ourselves doing that, and now we’ve started a new chapter. We are now the biggest global bare knuckle company, no matter what anybody says, with the biggest roster and the largest library of fighters. We wanted to put the world on notice to who we are, we’re now Bare Knuckle Boxing. We’ve had discussions internally about it over the last few months, since the acquisition. It was all part of the plan and we’re just keeping things moving in a positive way.”
With making such a big move, a total rebrand of the company, especially given the year they have had since the merger, I asked him if he expects any confusion with the fans about the name change.
“I don’t really think so because I think anyone who was a fan of both BYB and BKB before the acquisition knows who we are and knows that the rebrand is still the same company. With our most recent deal with VICE, we wanted to be a little more streamlined, with how we are presented and it makes us more easily recognizable, keeping with the BKB mantle.”
With this move seemingly coming out of nowhere, at least in the eyes of the consumer, I asked if there were any other moves coming in the future that maybe we could prepare ourselves for.
“I’ll give you a quote from one of my favourite people in the world, Ric Flair, “ We have only just begun, WOOOO!”
(I may have added the WOOOO)
Like I said earlier this certainly came as a shock to me especially given the strides that the company has taken, recently acquiring new deals and always improving the roster. However, having now spoken to Bloom, and his reassurance that this wasn't a snap decision but always part of the plan, I have no choice but to accept the move and trust the process of the company who has continually pushed the envelope. In my opinion BKB is the better name between the two, and with the sport of bare knuckle frequently getting the word boxing tacked on the end, the SEO of the company isn’t hurting either.
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