Best BKFC Fighters of All Time (Top 10 Ranked)
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is the most credentialed bare knuckle promotion in the world -- the first to receive sanctioning from a US athletic commission and the platform where most former UFC fighters who try ungloved combat end up. This list ranks the ten most important fighters in BKFC's history, weighted by championship runs, finish rates, and impact on the sport's mainstream visibility.
Only fighters with profiles on this site are included. For broader context, see the BKFC champions list and BKFC vs UFC comparison.
10. Paige VanZant
The crossover signing that put BKFC on the front pages. VanZant's BKFC record is 0-2, but the cultural impact of her 2020 signing -- a former UFC flyweight contender, "Dancing with the Stars" finalist, and bestselling author choosing bare knuckle as her next stop -- made her one of the most consequential fighters in the promotion's history. Every mainstream crossover that followed owes a debt to her.
9. Eddie Alvarez
The only man to hold lightweight world titles in both the UFC and Bellator. Alvarez's BKFC record is 1-2, but his signing brought legitimacy the promotion could not buy any other way. The "Underground King" earned his nickname by dominating elite opposition across multiple organizations and his decision to test himself in pure bare knuckle striking is a chapter that elevated the sport regardless of result.
8. Chad Mendes
The former UFC featherweight title contender who twice fought for the 145 lb belt. Mendes carries a 18-5 pro MMA record and a wrestling-heavy MMA pedigree few BKFC fighters can match. His decision to strip off the gloves after a decorated UFC and WEC career made him one of the highest-credentialed crossovers the promotion has signed.
7. Britain Hart
The pioneer of women's bare knuckle. Hart competed in BKFC's first sanctioned women's bare knuckle bout in 2018, has headlined more events than any other fighter in promotion history, and currently holds the Women's Strawweight Championship through four consecutive defenses. Her approximately 10-3 BKFC record is matched only by the resilience that built it -- she lost her debut and a flyweight title fight before establishing strawweight dominance.
6. Lorenzo Hunt
"The Juggernaut" -- BKFC's heavyweight/cruiserweight knockout artist. Hunt has produced multiple heavyweight knockouts in the promotion and his power is the kind of fight-ending threat that changes the calculation for every opponent who signs the contract. In a sport where ungloved heavyweight power is the most terrifying weapon, Hunt is one of the names every fighter wants to avoid.
5. Christine Ferea
The female bare knuckle GOAT. Ferea is 10-1 in BKFC, has defended the Women's Flyweight Championship five consecutive times, and added a second title at 135 lbs as the inaugural Queen of Violence Champion. She came in with a 13-0 amateur Muay Thai record and has finished every championship opponent except one. Her résumé includes wins over Britain Hart (twice), Bec Rawlings (twice), Taylor Starling, Jade Masson-Wong, and Jessica Borga.
4. Bec "Rowdy" Rawlings
The Australian UFC veteran who won the first sanctioned women's bare knuckle bout in US history at BKFC 2 (June 2, 2018) against Alma Garcia. Rawlings is 4-2 in BKFC with a 7-8 MMA record, and her legacy is the door she opened. The entire women's division -- Hart, Ferea, VanZant, Tai Emery -- exists in the space Rawlings created with that 2018 win.
3. Mike "Platinum" Perry
Undefeated in BKFC at 6-0 and the current King of Violence Champion. Perry was a UFC welterweight known for chaos and brawling, and the bare knuckle format turned out to be the arena he was built for. He is BKFC's most recognizable star, the fighter who headlines the biggest cards, and the box office draw the promotion leans on for marquee events.
2. Austin "No Doubt" Trout
The former WBA Super Welterweight World Champion who has gone 5-0 in BKFC and now holds the welterweight title. Trout is BKFC's pound-for-pound number one and is chasing a second divisional belt at lightweight. His pro boxing record is 32-5-1 with 18 KOs against opposition that includes elite world-level competition. The transition from sanctioned championship boxing to bare knuckle dominance at age 40 is one of the most impressive runs in combat sports.
1. Luis "Baboon" Palomino
The most accomplished fighter in BKFC history. Palomino is 11-2 in bare knuckle, the first two-division champion in the promotion (lightweight and welterweight, held simultaneously), and also the BKFC King of the Streets Champion. He came in with a 26-17 pro MMA record from MMA Masters in Miami and built a nine-fight win streak before his first BKFC loss. He is the standard against which all BKFC champions are measured and the blueprint for what a successful MMA-to-bare-knuckle transition looks like.
How This List Was Built
The ranking weights championship runs (Palomino's two divisions, Ferea's five defenses, Trout's belt), undefeated streaks (Perry at 6-0, Trout at 5-0), and impact on the sport's growth (VanZant, Alvarez, Mendes). Palomino sits at #1 because no other fighter in the promotion's history has held two divisions simultaneously while building an 11-fight peak.
Honourable mentions: Tai Emery, Jimmie Rivera, Andrei Arlovski, and Luke Rockhold all have legitimate top-10 cases as the BKFC roster continues to expand.
