Yesterday, BKFC president and founder David Feldman announced that the majority stake of Bare Knuckle has been purchased by Triller. This was a huge move for the promotion that stands to provide them with some much needed funding.
Over the past year or so, BKFC has been looking to become more mainstream. In doing so, we’ve seen them bring in a number of high level free agents. Some of the notable ones being Chad Mendes and Mike Perry.
The biggest investment that BKFC made was in Paige VanZant. VanZant brought many more eye balls to Bare Knuckle, but her 0-2 start with the promotion has seen the interest start to fizzle out.
Feldman acknowledged the fact that they will want to be big players for all free agents. He told Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour that BKFC is planning on being a major player with all upcoming free agents in boxing and MMA.
There was one name that he called out that really caught my attention. Feldman kept referencing that they would be interested in the biggest free agent of them all and Helwani got him to admit that he was talking about UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3).
Ngannou in BKFC?
As Feldman acknowledged yesterday, BKFC cannot even begin conversations with Ngannou as he’s still under contract with the UFC. The heavyweight champion’s contract doesn’t actually expire until the end of the year.
However, things between the heavyweight champion and the UFC aren’t in the best spot. Ngannou has been very vocal about his displeasure with the way UFC contracts are setup and the lack of benefits that are provided to fighters.
I can definitely see BKFC coming into play here. One of the things I really respect about Feldman and the promotion is the fact that they created a fighter pension for all of the fighters that way they can have some form of retirement.
In addition to that, BKFC is looking to add more benefits. These are some of the things that Ngannou has stated that he wants from the UFC. Now, will Francis Ngannou ever fight for Bare Knuckle? Odds are not that great.
However, they have a decent financial backing now and I could see them giving Ngannou the freedom in his contract that he wants. If Ngannou doesn’t resign in 2022, BKFC can’t totally be ruled out for the baddest man on the planet.