BKFC Major Events History: KnuckleMania, Biggest PPVs, and Milestone Cards
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has staged over 70 numbered events since its founding in 2018. From a modest debut in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to sold-out NBA arenas in Philadelphia, the promotion has grown into the largest bare knuckle fighting organization in the world. This is the complete guide to BKFC's most significant events -- the cards that defined the promotion, broke records, and pushed bare knuckle fighting from a novelty into a mainstream combat sport.
BKFC 1: The Beginning -- June 2, 2018, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Everything starts here. BKFC 1 was the first legal, sanctioned bare knuckle fighting event in the United States since 1889 -- a span of 129 years. The event was held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, one of the few states willing to sanction bare knuckle combat at the time.
Bobby Gunn won the night's first fight by first-round knockout over Irineu Beato Costa Jr., making him the first fighter to win a legal bare knuckle bout in over a century. Sam "Hillbilly Hammer" Shewmaker also debuted on this card, beginning a career that would make him one of the promotion's most recognizable heavyweights.
The event was small by modern BKFC standards, but its significance is immeasurable. Founder David Feldman had spent years navigating the regulatory landscape to make bare knuckle fighting legal, and BKFC 1 proved the concept was viable. For more on the fighters who competed that night, see our article on the original BKFC fighters.
BKFC 2: August 25, 2018, Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
The second event expanded the promotion's geographic footprint and featured the first women's bare knuckle fight in modern U.S. history. Bec Rawlings, a former UFC strawweight, defeated Alma Garcia to make history. Rawlings' participation lent mainstream credibility to BKFC and opened the door for the women's division that would eventually produce champions like Christine Ferea and Britain Hart.
BKFC 2 demonstrated that the promotion could attract fighters with genuine professional pedigrees, not just toughman competitors and regional boxers.
BKFC 6: Malignaggi vs. Lobov -- June 22, 2019, Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa, Florida
This was the event that put BKFC on the mainstream combat sports map. Former two-division boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi faced Artem Lobov, the former UFC fighter best known for his friendship with Conor McGregor. The rivalry had roots in a much-publicized sparring session between Malignaggi and McGregor during McGregor's preparations for his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.
Lobov won a unanimous decision in a fight that generated enormous pay-per-view interest and mainstream media coverage. The Malignaggi-Lobov feud brought BKFC into the conversation among boxing and MMA fans who had never previously considered bare knuckle fighting as a legitimate sport. A rematch was staged, and the rivalry remained one of the most referenced storylines in BKFC history.
BKFC 9: The Rematch -- November 16, 2019, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, Hollywood, Florida
Lobov and Malignaggi ran it back, with Lobov again winning by decision. The rematch drew strong pay-per-view numbers and confirmed that BKFC could build multi-fight storylines capable of sustaining audience interest over months.
BKFC 15: Paige VanZant's Debut -- February 5, 2021 (KnuckleMania I)
The first KnuckleMania event was built around the bare knuckle debut of Paige VanZant, the former UFC flyweight contender and "Dancing with the Stars" competitor. VanZant had signed a lucrative multi-fight deal with BKFC, and her arrival brought mainstream attention and celebrity interest to the promotion.
Britain Hart upset VanZant by unanimous decision (49-46 across all three scorecards) in a result that shocked casual observers but reinforced that bare knuckle fighting demanded its own specialized skill set. Despite the loss, VanZant's involvement elevated BKFC's profile significantly.
KnuckleMania II -- February 19, 2022, Hollywood, Florida
The second KnuckleMania was the event where Mike Perry arrived. The former UFC welterweight, known for his brawling style and social media presence, made his BKFC debut against Julian Lane and won a unanimous decision. The fight proved that Perry's aggressive, forward-moving style was tailor-made for bare knuckle combat.
Perry's debut was a watershed moment. He would go on to become the face of the promotion, BKFC's most marketable fighter, and one of the driving forces behind the organization's growth into arena-sized events. Former UFC featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes also debuted on the card.
For complete KnuckleMania coverage, see our dedicated KnuckleMania history.
BKFC 41: Perry vs. Rockhold -- April 29, 2023
Mike Perry faced former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in one of the most anticipated bare knuckle fights in the promotion's history. Perry won by second-round TKO, stopping a fighter who had been a UFC champion and who represented the highest pedigree of MMA crossover talent BKFC had ever attracted.
The victory established Perry as a legitimate combat sports star in his own right, not merely a UFC veteran competing in a secondary promotion. His BKFC career had surpassed his UFC career in terms of both success and popularity.
BKFC 56: Perry vs. Alvarez -- December 16, 2023
In the co-main event, Mike Perry stopped former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez by TKO, earning the "King of Violence" designation. Alvarez was a former Bellator and UFC champion -- one of the most credentialed fighters in MMA history -- and Perry's victory over him cemented his status as the most dominant active fighter in bare knuckle.
This event also marked the period when Conor McGregor's involvement with BKFC was first publicly discussed, setting the stage for the ownership announcement that would come in 2024.
KnuckleMania IV -- April 27, 2024, Peacock Theater, Los Angeles
BKFC's move to Los Angeles brought the promotion to the entertainment capital. Perry headlined against Thiago Alves and needed only 60 seconds to finish the former UFC veteran with a devastating left hook. The event represented BKFC's growing mainstream ambitions and its push into celebrity and entertainment industry circles.
The Conor McGregor Ownership Announcement -- 2024
While not a fight event, McGregor's announcement that he had acquired an ownership stake in BKFC was the single most significant business development in the promotion's history. McGregor's global profile -- he remains the biggest pay-per-view draw in combat sports history -- brought a level of media attention and commercial credibility that BKFC had never previously enjoyed.
McGregor's involvement as co-owner signaled to fighters, sponsors, and broadcasters that BKFC was a serious, long-term enterprise with the star power to compete for mainstream attention.
KnuckleMania V -- January 25, 2025, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
The breakthrough event. BKFC drew 17,762 fans to the Wells Fargo Center, setting the record for the highest attendance at any combat sports event in modern Philadelphia history. Jeremy Stephens defeated Eddie Alvarez by third-round TKO in the main event, and former UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell claimed the BKFC heavyweight title with a 36-second knockout of Mick Terrill.
KnuckleMania V proved that BKFC could fill an NBA arena, a milestone that positioned the promotion alongside the UFC and top-tier boxing as a viable live event product.
KnuckleMania VI -- February 7, 2026, Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia
Returning to Philadelphia with momentum and selling out the arena again with over 18,000 fans, KnuckleMania VI delivered a main event for the ages. Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, at 47 years old, defeated Ben Rothwell by third-round TKO (doctor's stoppage) to claim the BKFC heavyweight championship. Lorenzo Hunt continued his reign as the most feared champion in the promotion, knocking out middleweight champion David Mundell in a champ-versus-champ superfight.
The back-to-back Philadelphia sellouts demonstrated that KnuckleMania V was not an anomaly. BKFC had built a sustainable live event product capable of filling major arenas year after year.
The $25 Million World's Baddest Man Tournament -- 2026
The most ambitious project in BKFC history is set to unfold across 2026. The promotion announced a $25 million tournament, branded as the search for the "World's Baddest Man," designed to attract the biggest names in combat sports to the bare knuckle format. The tournament represents the convergence of McGregor's star power, BKFC's growing roster, and the commercial momentum generated by the KnuckleMania sellouts.
BKFC's International Expansion Events
BKFC's growth has not been limited to the United States. The promotion launched BKFC Thailand in 2021, tapping into the rich striking traditions of Southeast Asia. BKFC UK was established through the acquisition of BFBA (British Fighting Boxing Association) in 2022, giving the promotion a foothold in the European market.
International events have featured local talent alongside American fighters, creating cross-promotional storylines and expanding the BKFC brand into markets where bare knuckle fighting has deep cultural roots.
The Event-by-Event Growth Story
| Year | Major Milestones |
|---|---|
| 2018 | BKFC 1 in Wyoming -- first legal US bare knuckle event since 1889 |
| 2019 | Lobov vs. Malignaggi rivalry puts BKFC on the map |
| 2021 | KnuckleMania I debuts; BKFC Thailand launches |
| 2022 | Mike Perry arrives at KnuckleMania II; BKFC UK established |
| 2023 | Perry stops Rockhold; KnuckleMania III sets KO records |
| 2024 | McGregor ownership; KnuckleMania IV in Los Angeles |
| 2025 | KnuckleMania V sets 17,762 attendance record in Philadelphia |
| 2026 | KnuckleMania VI sells out again; $25M tournament announced |
What BKFC Events Mean for the Sport
BKFC's event history is the story of bare knuckle fighting's resurrection. From a single event in Wyoming attended by a few hundred people to sold-out NBA arenas with nearly 18,000 fans, the trajectory is extraordinary. Each major event expanded the boundaries of what was considered possible for a combat sport that most people assumed would never be sanctioned again.
The events listed above are not just fight cards. They are the building blocks of a sport's legitimacy. Every time BKFC fills an arena, attracts a former champion, or lands a mainstream media headline, it moves bare knuckle fighting further from its underground origins and closer to the mainstream combat sports conversation.
Whether that mainstreaming is a good thing depends on your perspective. For the fans who loved bare knuckle fighting when it was raw, illegal, and dangerous, the arena shows and pay-per-views represent something lost. For the fighters who can now make a living throwing bare fists under the bright lights, it represents everything gained.
For the complete KnuckleMania breakdown, see KnuckleMania: The Complete History. For profiles of the fighters who built BKFC from the ground up, see Early BKFC Fighters.