Short answer: A group owns BKFC, not one person. David Feldman founded the promotion and has been its president since the 2018 launch, and he still runs it day to day. Triller announced a majority stake in February 2022 and told the SEC its holding stood at 38.13% after a June 2025 foreclosure moved a block of shares to a lender. Conor McGregor acquired a minority stake through McGregor Sports and Entertainment in April 2024. BKFC is private, so the full cap table has never been disclosed. The documented corporate record is set out in how Triller lost control of BKFC.
The Full Answer
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) was founded by David Feldman, a Philadelphia-based boxing promoter who saw an opportunity to revive regulated bare knuckle fighting in the United States. Feldman organized the first sanctioned bare knuckle event in Wyoming in 2018 and has served as the promotion's president and driving force ever since. Under his leadership, BKFC grew from a niche curiosity to the largest bare knuckle promotion in the world.
In April 2024, Conor McGregor announced his investment in BKFC, acquiring a minority stake through McGregor Sports and Entertainment. McGregor's involvement was more than financial -- he took on an active role as a brand ambassador and strategic advisor, appearing at events, promoting fights on social media, and helping recruit talent. His star power brought a wave of mainstream media coverage and new fans to the sport. McGregor has spoken publicly about his belief that bare knuckle fighting is the future of combat sports.
The corporate side is more complicated than the founder-plus-celebrity picture suggests, and it has moved since 2024. BKFC sat inside the Triller business from February 2022, and from October 2024 inside Nasdaq-listed Triller Group Inc., which brought public reporting duties with it. Triller has since told the SEC that BKFC should be removed from its consolidated accounts entirely, and that its own stake fell to 38.13% after a lender foreclosed on pledged shares in June 2025. Feldman has remained president and BKFC has kept staging events throughout. We do not restate that history here, because it turns on the wording of specific filings: it is documented, with the filings quoted, in how Triller lost control of BKFC.
Alongside all of that, BKFC has expanded internationally, with events in the UK, Thailand and across the United States, and announced a $25 million tournament that has still not been contested. That announcement raised the promotion's profile and has so far paid nobody: see the $25 million tournament status page.
Key Details
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founder and President | David Feldman |
| Minority investor (April 2024) | Conor McGregor, via McGregor Sports and Entertainment |
| Triller stake reported to the SEC | 38.13%, after the June 2025 foreclosure |
| Corporate status | Private; full cap table never disclosed |
| Founded | 2018 |
| First event location | Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| International expansion | UK, Thailand, multiple US states |
| Landmark initiative | $25M tournament, announced 2025, never contested |
Related Questions
- How Do You Qualify for the BKFC $25M Tournament? -- tournament entry and requirements
- What Is the Biggest Bare Knuckle Purse Ever? -- record paydays in bare knuckle
- Does BKFC Drug Test Fighters? -- testing protocols
Further Reading
- How Triller Lost Control of BKFC -- the deconsolidation 8-K, the Yorkville foreclosure, and what the filings do and do not say
- The $25 Million BKFC Tournament -- announced for March 2026, now a 2027 series, still not contested
- BKFC: the promotion explained -- from first event to global brand
- Conor McGregor's BKFC investment -- what he bought, and when
