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Dave Feldman on how Conor McGregor can help BKFC go mainstream

Dave Feldman hopes BKFC’s newest – and most famous – part-owner can help take the promotion to new levels in 2024.
Conor McGregor and Dave Feldman
BKFC

One of the biggest stories in the combat sports space in recent weeks was the news that Conor McGregor had become a part-owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), with plenty of eyebrows raised at the news that the biggest star in MMA had spread his wings by getting involved in the world’s premier bare-knuckle boxing promotion.

The news served as a further boost to the organisation, which has started to build some real momentum over recent months, thanks in no small part to the success of MMA fighters transitioning across to the BKFC ring.

It’s been a wild ride for BKFC founder Dave Feldman, who admitted to John Morgan on Grind City Media’s “Cageside 1 on 1” that even he has had to stop and almost pinch himself at how far the brand has come since its debut event in Cheyenne, Wyoming, back in 2018.

“It’s funny, I was talking about this earlier. I do take a step back and go, ‘Man. What are we doing here?!’” he admitted.

“It’s fun, it’s amazing, and I really think that, in a very humble way, I think we moved some mountains that people never thought we would move.”

If the promotion’s latest big-name arrival has anything to do with it, there’s a fair chance we’re going to see BKFC moving a few more mountains in the coming months and years.

Mid-way through the recent BKFC: KnuckleMania IV event in Los Angeles, Feldman dropped the bombshell news as McGregor appeared on the big screen and announced himself as a part-owner of BKFC.

With the brand already enjoying notable success, having combat sports’ biggest superstar now directly invested in BKFC’s success can only raise the promotion’s ceiling as Feldman looks to continue building BKFC from a fringe attraction to a mainstream product.

“I think he helps with a lot of different introductions, especially, because he knows everybody in the world,” Feldman explained.

“Stories – the one thing he did talk a lot about was, ‘Let’s just create stories, man. We got to create stories because, guess what? All we need is some stars and let’s make our own stars.’ So he’s into it.

“There’s going to be a lot more. Obviously he’s not going to do the day-to-day stuff – he’s not gonna do any of that. But he’s going to come up with ideas. He’s going to help move the needle. He’s going to do introductions. He’s going to do everything we really need him to do, the things that we can’t do right now, and that he’s going to help do. And you know, it’s amazing.”

Getting McGregor on board was much easier than many might have thought, simply because the Irishman was a fan of the product. A sponsorship deal with his Forged Irish Stout brand followed, and then things moved up a gear when conversations turned to other potential avenues.

“It started when he came to the event and just really was a fan, because he had no horse in the race – he just loved it,” said Feldman.

“And then he kept talking about it for days after. And I’m like, ‘What the hell just happened here? Why is this guy talking about it like this?’ And then we got to (the point) where his stout became a sponsor of ours – Forged Irish Stout is a BKFC sponsor.

“Then we just started communicating with the teams, and then we lined up to have some conversations. And it was obviously a great fit for us. And I think it was a great fit for him as well.

“Who doesn’t know him in combat sports? Everybody does. He’s one of the biggest sports icons in the past 25 years … so it was a great partnership for us. And he has a significant amount of equity – enough to make him really excited and to really try to make things happen here. So, we’re happy about it, and he’s happy about it.”

Clearly, hopes are high that the arrival of McGregor will help strap the rocket boosters to BKFC’s growth and take it to a new level of recognition and notoriety, and not just within the realm of hardcore combat sports fans. Feldman wants the sport to go mainstream.

“Imagine pitching this to somebody without any data, or without any fights to show. Imagine me trying to tell you how safe it is, or how it’s not that dangerous,” he said.

“Well, guess what? I have the data now, and the data shows me that we have less concussive and sub-concussive damage. We have less facial fractures. We even have less hand breaks than boxing or mixed martial arts.

“We do have more lacerations. And guess what? People like blood. But we’re stitching (the fighters) up at the end of the night and we’re sending them home, safe and sound, to their families.

“That’s my pitch. That’s really my pitch. That is exactly my pitch. And I think once I do that and say, ‘Listen, I want to tell you that it’s so exciting,’ it’s unbelievable.”

Feldman also said that BKFC’s strength lies in its simplicity. Two fighters, in a ring, with no gloves, throwing hands until someone is declared the winner. There’s no need to study up on techniques or different disciplines. If the UFC’s early strapline was “As Real As It Gets,” then BKFC’s could easily be, “As Straightforward As It Gets.”

“It’s relatable because, let me tell you … if I ask a roomful of people that are very casual combat sports fans and I go, ‘Do you know what an omoplata is? Do you know what a Kimura is?’ They’re going to go, ‘no,’” he said.

“And I’m going to say, ‘Do you know what a bare-knuckle punch to the face is?’ And every man, woman, child, black, white, Chinese – doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, you know what a bare-knuckle punch is. That’s my sales pitch. And they go, ‘Wow, man. You’re right, you’re right.’ It’s crazy. But I’m right.

“And the fans, when I talk to them, they get it. So they get behind it and it’s almost like they can see themselves in there a little bit, right? Like with some, you’re not really going to see yourself wrapping someone’s knee up in some of those holds. But you’re might see yourself punching someone in the mouth and saying, ‘I did that,’ or ‘I saw my best friend do that,’ or ‘I saw my brother did it’ or ‘I got punched in the face.’

“You can relate to it, and if you can relate to it, that allows you to really support it and get behind it. And I think that’s why we have more of a cult following that’s turning into a mainstream following now.”

With an easy-to-understand, action-packed format that makes the sport accessible to new fans, a roster full of characters and the biggest star in combat sports on the ownership group, things are looking positive for Feldman as he looks to take BKFC to the next level in 2024 and beyond.

It’s already happening, with BKFC now very much in the mix whenever a big-name fighter hits the open market, with the promotion now a serious player in the combat sports free agency stakes.

“We’re in the same conversation as any top combat sport organisation out there now,” he said.

“And we’re in the top conversations for any free agent out there. It’s just amazing.”

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A sports editor and MMA reporter with 25 years' experience in sports media, Simon has covered mixed martial arts since 2009 for a host of national and international outlets, including UFC, BBC Sport, MMA Junkie/USA Today, BT Sport and the Daily Mirror.

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