How Many Underground Fighting Organizations Are There?
The honest answer is that no one knows the exact number. Underground fighting, by definition, operates outside official channels, and many organizations exist only within local communities without any public profile. What can be said with confidence is that there are dozens of documented organizations and likely hundreds or thousands of undocumented ones worldwide.
This FAQ attempts to catalog what is known about the scale of the underground fighting world.
How many documented underground fighting organizations are there?
Our database tracks 22 organizations that have sufficient public documentation -- YouTube channels, media coverage, websites, or significant community presence -- to be cataloged in detail. These range from massive promotions with millions of YouTube subscribers to small local operations with limited online footprints.
These 22 organizations represent the visible tip of the underground fighting iceberg. For every organization with a YouTube channel, there are many more that operate entirely offline or within closed communities.
What are the major organizations by region?
North America:
- Streetbeefs -- Harrisonburg, Virginia (4.2M YouTube subscribers)
- BKFC -- Philadelphia (largest professional bare knuckle promotion)
- BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing -- Miami (formerly BYB Extreme)
- Rough N Rowdy -- Wheeling, West Virginia (Barstool Sports)
- Backyard Squabbles -- Los Angeles
- East Bay Rats -- Oakland, California
- Valor Bare Knuckle -- Cheyenne, Wyoming (Ken Shamrock)
- UCL (Underground Combat League) -- New York City (defunct)
- Felony Fights -- California (defunct)
Europe:
- KOTS (King of the Streets) -- Gothenburg, Sweden
- KOTR (King of the Ring) -- Manchester, UK
- Spartan BK -- North England
- UBKB -- Warrington, UK
- BTTB (Bad to the Bone) -- Stoke-on-Trent, UK
- FPVS -- French Riviera, France
- UUF (Ultimate Underground Fights) -- Denmark
- Holmgang Fighting -- Germany
Russia and Eastern Europe:
- Strelka -- St. Petersburg, Russia
- Top Dog FC -- Moscow, Russia
- Mahatch FC -- Kyiv, Ukraine
Other regions:
- Calcio Storico -- Florence, Italy (traditional)
How many underground fight clubs exist that are not documented?
This is impossible to answer precisely, but estimates based on media reports, law enforcement data, and community knowledge suggest the number is very large:
- Backyard fight clubs exist in virtually every major city in the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Latin America. Most are informal, unfilmed, and known only within their local communities.
- Gym smokers -- unsanctioned boxing or MMA events held in private gyms -- are common throughout the combat sports world and represent a form of underground fighting that rarely generates public attention.
- Bar fight nights and similar events operate in cities worldwide, often in motorcycle clubs, dive bars, and private venues.
- Prison fighting circuits exist within correctional institutions in many countries, though these are by nature completely undocumented.
A reasonable estimate is that hundreds to low thousands of informal fight clubs operate worldwide at any given time, though the vast majority are small, local, and impermanent.
Are the numbers growing or shrinking?
The underground fighting scene has grown significantly since the mid-2000s, driven by several factors:
Growth drivers:
- YouTube and social media have made it possible for underground organizations to build audiences and revenue streams without traditional media
- Kimbo Slice's viral success in the mid-2000s proved the commercial viability of underground fight content
- COVID-19 pandemic -- organizations like Backyard Squabbles were founded during the pandemic when sanctioned events were shut down
- The BKFC effect -- BKFC's success has legitimized bare knuckle fighting and created a professional tier that incentivizes grassroots organizations to develop talent
Contraction factors:
- Professionalization -- some organizations (BYB Extreme, BKFC) have moved from underground to sanctioned status, removing them from the underground category
- Law enforcement -- periodic crackdowns shut down individual operations
- Legalization of MMA -- in markets like New York, where MMA was legalized in 2016, the UCL shut down because legal competition removed the need for underground alternatives
The net trend is growth. More underground fighting organizations exist today than at any point in history, and the audience for underground fight content continues to expand.
What types of underground fighting organizations exist?
Underground fighting organizations can be categorized by type:
Backyard/grassroots (unsanctioned, community-based):
- Streetbeefs, Backyard Squabbles, KOTR
- Typically use gloves, basic rules, and referees
- Focus on community, dispute resolution, or amateur competition
Extreme/no-rules (unsanctioned, minimal safety measures):
Amateur street fighting (semi-structured):
- Strelka, Rough N Rowdy
- Open to amateurs, some structure and safety measures
- Large-scale participation
Professional bare knuckle (sanctioned):
- BKFC, BKB, Top Dog FC, Mahatch FC
- Professional fighters, regulated events, paid purses
- Technically no longer "underground" but grew from underground roots
Traditional/cultural:
- Calcio Storico, Holmgang Fighting
- Historical traditions with long cultural pedigrees
- Unique formats not replicated elsewhere
What countries have the most underground fighting organizations?
Based on documented organizations:
- United States -- the largest number of documented organizations, ranging from Streetbeefs to BKFC
- United Kingdom -- multiple bare knuckle and backyard fighting promotions (KOTR, Spartan BK, UBKB, BTTB)
- Russia -- Strelka and Top Dog FC represent massive operations
- Sweden -- KOTS has outsized influence relative to the country's population
- France, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine, Italy -- each has at least one notable organization
The true global distribution is certainly broader. Underground fighting exists in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and other regions where documentation is limited.
For detailed profiles of individual organizations, explore our organization pages. For a ranking of the largest organizations, see our biggest underground fight club FAQ.