Bare-knuckle boxing is a cruel sport at its very core. No gloves. No wrestling. No kickboxing distance. Just pure violence in the pocket, like God intended.
Although some find their place in this chaotic world.
Mike Perry, for example, never shone too brightly during his time with the UFC. He’s always put on wars and was never shy to show off his personality, but Perry was never considered elite.
Perry was cut after losing four out of his last five fights in the promotion. It turned out that it was the best thing that could’ve happened to him back then.
With a victory in Triad Combat — a now largely forgotten promotion — Perry signed with the premier league in the young sport of bare-knuckle boxing, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). He debuted on Feb. 19, 2022, beating Julian Lane — who everybody knew as the “lemme bang” guy — via split decision.
The BKFC higher-ups saw potential in Perry, who seemed like he was born for this sport. Perry would cement himself in the league with a majority decision victory over Michael “Venom” Page.
That fight brought plenty of new eyes to the sport, making Perry the face of BKFC. His following three KO/TKO victories over Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, and Thiago Alves made BKFC and Perry millions of dollars.
“Platinum” even fought Jake Paul in one of his boxing events. Though he lost to the physically bigger Paul, Perry sure made a bag that night.
Amongst other MMA-fighters-turned-bare-knuckle-boxers are Jeremy Stephens, Ben Rothwell, Thiago Alves, and John Dodson. That is just mentioning the more successful names. Of the five fighters brought up, two are the reigning BKFC champs (Rothwell and Dodson), and one is a former champ (Alves). Speaking of Stephens, he fought back into the UFC through BKFC.
When it comes to bringing new eyes to the sport, before Perry, there was former UFC featherweight Artem Lobov. Going 2-1 in BKFC, Lobov headlined all three events he participated in.
His fight against former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi on June 22, 2019, became the biggest in the promotion’s history, thanks to the storyline leading up to it. Lobov’s commercial success in BKFC is primarily a product of his friendship with Conor McGregor.
McGregor had been showing interest in bare-knuckle boxing for quite a while, and in April 2024, he officially announced becoming a part owner of BKFC. This announcement became a huge talking point and created additional attention for the league.
Along with the inspirational examples of athletes like Rothwell, Stephens, Dodson, etc., this path has a dark side.
There is, for example, Greg Hardy, who got brutally knocked out in his first and only Bare-knuckle boxing bout. Combine this with his NFL career, KO losses in the UFC, and other combat sports, and the amount of CTE received by Hardy becomes truly scary.
While not many people are devastated by Hardy’s downfall, the recent defeat of another former UFC heavyweight, Alexei Oleynik, might weigh more on the fans. Oleynik is an 80-fight MMA veteran whose primary weapon has always been his grappling. The 47-year-old submission artist decided to go for a bare-knuckle boxing fight for the money.
Bare-knuckle boxing is a popular choice amongst retired MMA fighters. For some, it is an attempt to bring back the competitive glory days; for others, it becomes a full-blown revival of their career; and some treat it as an opportunity to cash in on their name and forget about it altogether.
With how brutal and wild this sport is, some say it is considerably easier to prepare for than an MMA bout.
“There was so much uncertainty [in MMA] whether you are going to make it through this camp or not,” former UFC lightweight champion and BKFC fighter Eddie Alvarez stated in his appearance on “Mighty Cast.” “Boxing is so simple compared to an MMA training camp.”
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