BKFC vs Top Dog FC: Bare Knuckle East vs West
Bare knuckle fighting's global landscape is defined by two dominant forces on opposite sides of the world. In America, the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has built the largest professional bare knuckle promotion on earth, complete with celebrity ownership, state athletic commission sanctioning, and a roster headlined by former UFC stars. In Russia, Top Dog Fighting Championship has become Eastern Europe's premier bare knuckle brand, mixing underground aesthetics with arena-level production and a homegrown roster of internationally ranked fighters.
This is bare knuckle's version of the Cold War -- two philosophies, two markets, two visions of what bare knuckle fighting should be, operating simultaneously with almost no crossover. Comparing them reveals where bare knuckle is, where it is going, and what it means for the sport to grow on two entirely separate tracks.
Origins and Ownership
BKFC
BKFC was founded in April 2018 in Philadelphia and staged the first legal bare knuckle fighting events in the United States since 1889. That historical footnote is not just marketing -- it represents the regulatory work required to get state athletic commissions to sanction a sport that had been effectively banned for over a century.
The ownership story escalated dramatically in 2024 when Conor McGregor and McGregor Sports and Entertainment became part-owners of the promotion. McGregor's involvement brought mainstream attention, social media reach, and a level of star power that no bare knuckle promotion had previously enjoyed. BKFC is now positioned as a legitimate professional combat sports organization with infrastructure, commission oversight, and celebrity-level branding.
Top Dog FC
Top Dog FC was founded around 2019 in Moscow and built its brand from scratch within Russia's distinctive combat culture. Unlike BKFC, which pursued legitimacy through regulatory compliance, Top Dog FC grew from the underground scene, inheriting the audience and aesthetic of Russian fight culture while adding professional production and competitive structure.
Top Dog FC operates without the kind of athletic commission framework that governs BKFC. Instead, it has carved out a space where the rawness of underground fighting meets the ambition of a real sports promotion. The organization holds events at CSKA Arena -- one of Moscow's established sports venues -- and operates its own streaming platform, suggesting serious financial backing and long-term planning.
Rules and Format
| Aspect | BKFC | Top Dog FC |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Boxing (punching only) | Bare knuckle boxing with expanded clinch work |
| Rounds | 5 rounds x 2 minutes (title fights) | 5 rounds x 2 minutes (championship) |
| Gloves | None (hand wraps only) | None |
| Fighting Surface | Circular ring with ropes | Circle of hay bales |
| Weight Classes | 9 male, 3 female | 6 weight classes |
| Clinch Rules | Limited clinch work | Clinch strikes, open palm strikes, shoulder strikes allowed |
| Ground Fighting | None (stand-up only) | Primarily stand-up |
| Draws | Possible | No draws in championship fights |
| Attire | Boxing trunks/shorts | Jeans/sweatpants, sneakers |
| Judges | Three judges, 10-point system | Judges present |
Both organizations are built around bare knuckle punching, but the technical details diverge meaningfully. BKFC operates under a modified boxing ruleset with hand wraps permitted and a traditional circular ring. The fighting is strictly stand-up, punching-only combat scored by three judges on the 10-point must system familiar to boxing fans.
Top Dog FC allows more variety in the clinch, including open palm strikes, shoulder strikes, and clinch-range blows that would be illegal in BKFC. The no-draws policy for championship fights forces definitive outcomes. And the visual signature -- fighters in jeans inside a hay bale circle -- creates a fundamentally different aesthetic than BKFC's more conventional ring presentation.
Fighter Rosters
BKFC
BKFC has built its roster on two pillars: homegrown bare knuckle talent and high-profile combat sports crossovers.
Top fighters include:
- Austin Trout -- P4P #1, a former boxing world champion who has dominated bare knuckle competition
- Mike Perry -- the King of Violence champion, a former UFC fighter who found his true calling in bare knuckle with a dominant undefeated record
- Christine Ferea -- considered the female bare knuckle GOAT, flyweight champion
- Britain Hart -- the fighter with the most main events in BKFC history, strawweight champion
- Luis Palomino -- a two-division champion
The UFC crossover pipeline has been critical to BKFC's growth. Perry, Eddie Alvarez, Luke Rockhold, Michael Page, Chad Mendes, and Jeremy Stephens have all competed in BKFC, bringing their existing fanbases and lending competitive credibility to the promotion.
Top Dog FC
Top Dog FC's roster is built primarily from the Russian and CIS fighting pipeline:
- Naim "Samurai" Davudov -- ranked #6 P4P on the BK Nations list
- Alexander "Drago" Shapovalov -- a notable heavyweight
- Gia "The Ogre" Torchinava -- a fan-favorite for his intense fighting style
- Marcel Khanov, Evgeny Shishkov, Alexey Melnikov -- core roster competitors
- Alex Terrible -- the vocalist of Slaughter to Prevail, bridging music and fighting
Top Dog FC has not relied on Western MMA crossovers. Its fighters are products of Russian combat sports culture -- a pipeline that includes sambo, boxing, kickboxing, and street fighting traditions. This makes the roster more authentically Eastern European but less immediately recognizable to Western audiences.
Business and Monetization
| Business Element | BKFC | Top Dog FC |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Conor McGregor / MSE (part-owner) | Private (Russian) |
| Revenue Model | PPV, streaming, sponsorships, ticket sales | Streaming (topdogfc.tv), YouTube, sponsorships |
| Athletic Commission | Yes -- sanctioned by state commissions | No formal commission oversight |
| Fighter Pay | Professional contracts, disclosed purses | Undisclosed |
| Expansion | BKFC UK (acquired BFBA 2022), BKFC Asia/Thailand (2021) | Primarily domestic (Russia) |
| Social Media | Instagram (2M followers) | Instagram (@topdogfights) |
| Celebrity Draw | McGregor ownership, UFC veteran roster | Alex Terrible (music crossover) |
| Global Footprint | USA, UK, Thailand, expanding | Russia and CIS |
BKFC operates as a fully professionalized global sports brand. Athletic commission sanctioning means regulated fighter pay, pre-fight medicals, licensed ringside physicians, and the legal infrastructure that comes with operating as a legitimate combat sports promotion. The international expansion into the UK and Thailand demonstrates ambitions beyond the American market. McGregor's involvement alone puts BKFC in conversations and on platforms that other bare knuckle promotions cannot access.
Top Dog FC's business model is more insular but potentially more independent. The dedicated streaming platform at topdogfc.tv means the organization controls its content distribution entirely -- no dependency on YouTube algorithms or pay-per-view distributors. The focus on the Russian market, which has an enormous appetite for combat sports content, provides a substantial domestic audience without the need for international expansion.
Production and Presentation
BKFC
BKFC events look like professional boxing or MMA shows. The circular ring, the broadcast team, the graphics packages, the undercard-to-main-event structure -- everything follows the template established by major combat sports promotions. The production quality has escalated significantly since the McGregor acquisition, with live broadcasts reaching a polish comparable to mid-tier boxing events.
Top Dog FC
Top Dog FC has created its own visual language. The hay bale circle, the jeans-wearing fighters, the CSKA Arena atmosphere -- nothing about a Top Dog FC event looks like a BKFC show, and that distinction is entirely intentional. The production is professional-grade but maintains deliberate markers of rawness. The hay bales say "this is underground." The arena lighting says "this is professional." The tension between those two statements is the brand.
Safety and Regulation
| Safety Aspect | BKFC | Top Dog FC |
|---|---|---|
| Commission Oversight | Yes -- state athletic commissions | None |
| Pre-Fight Medicals | Mandatory | Not publicly disclosed |
| Ringside Physician | Required by commission | Arena medical staff |
| Drug Testing | Commission-mandated | Not publicly disclosed |
| Hand Protection | Hand wraps | None |
| Weight Cutting Oversight | Commission-regulated weigh-ins | Formal weight classes |
| Post-Fight Medical | Commission-mandated evaluation | Arena medical availability |
BKFC's commission sanctioning provides a safety infrastructure that Top Dog FC cannot match. Mandatory pre-fight physicals, licensed ringside physicians, and drug testing are non-negotiable requirements in sanctioned combat sports. The hand wraps permitted in BKFC, while minimal, provide some protection to the fighter's hands (though not to the opponent's face).
Top Dog FC's arena-based events provide better safety than street-level underground operations, but the absence of commission oversight means the safety standards are self-imposed rather than externally mandated.
Side-by-Side Summary
| Category | BKFC | Top Dog FC |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2018, Philadelphia | ~2019, Moscow |
| Market | Global (USA, UK, Thailand) | Russia and CIS |
| Ownership | Conor McGregor (part-owner) | Private |
| Commission | State athletic commissions | None |
| Weight Classes | 9 male, 3 female | 6 |
| Ring | Circular ring with ropes | Hay bale circle |
| Fighter Pay | Professional contracts | Undisclosed |
| Roster Depth | Deep, with UFC crossovers | Growing, nationally sourced |
| Social Media | 2M Instagram followers | Active, growing |
| Production | Professional boxing standard | Professional with underground aesthetic |
| Streaming | PPV, various platforms | topdogfc.tv (owned platform) |
| Hand Protection | Wraps | None |
| Cultural Identity | American professional sports | Russian combat culture |
The Verdict
BKFC and Top Dog FC are building the future of bare knuckle fighting simultaneously, but in different directions.
BKFC is the global standard-bearer for professional bare knuckle. It has the biggest names, the deepest roster, the most international footprint, and the most powerful ownership group in the sport's history. The commission sanctioning provides legitimacy that no underground organization can claim. When people think of bare knuckle fighting in 2026, they think of BKFC first. That is not an accident -- it is the result of strategic growth, smart acquisitions, and leveraging combat sports star power.
Top Dog FC is the most exciting bare knuckle promotion that most Western fans have never heard of. It has built something genuinely distinctive -- a promotion that looks and feels nothing like BKFC, with its own visual identity, its own fighter pipeline, and its own streaming infrastructure. Fighters like Naim "Samurai" Davudov are world-class competitors who deserve recognition alongside BKFC's top talent. The production quality is legitimate, and the Russian combat sports market is enormous.
The dream scenario for bare knuckle fighting globally would be crossover events -- BKFC champions versus Top Dog FC champions in superfights that bridge east and west. Whether geopolitics and business logistics ever allow that to happen remains to be seen. But on pure product quality, both organizations are delivering at a level that the bare knuckle world has never seen before.
For more on these promotions, see our profiles on BKFC and Top Dog FC. For how BKFC compares to amateur fighting, read our Rough N' Rowdy vs BKFC breakdown.