BKFC targets Philippines

“BKFC is dedicated to preserving the historical legacy of bare knuckle fighting, while utilizing a specifically created rule set that emphasizes fighter safety. BKFC will hold all of its bouts in a revolutionary circular four-rope ring, designed to encourage fast-paced and exciting bouts.”

• Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship website, bareknuckle.tv

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has been growing at an explosive rate all over the world. Started  in 2018 by former pro boxer David Feldman, whose father and brother are both well-known promoters, it harks back to the origins of pure boxing. A round ring, no padded gloves, solid safety regulations, and exciting match-ups. BKFC is the first international bare-fisted professional sport promotion since the late 1800’s. They have a foothold in Thailand, but want to use the Philippines as their launchpad to the rest of Asia.

“Dave got a lot of feedback from people that they were getting a bit bored of boxing now,” explains BKFC Asia owner and Chief Executive Officer Nick Chapman in an exclusive interview with The STAR, “No one had ever fallen out of love with it, but the characters aren’t what they used to be. Too many championships. Too many titles. It’s kind of lost its edge a bit. So he’s been a passionate boxing guy, and he said he wanted to do something exciting again.”

Chapman, himself a retired MMA fighter, refereed a small BKFC event in Thailand as they were testing the waters. It went hand-in-hand perfectly with Asians’ unmatched skill in striking, a huge component of over 70 combat sports in the continent. 

“I’d never seen it before, loved it. I said I want to do this,” Chapman recalls vividly. “I said I want to take on Asia.”

Initially, Feldman only gave Chapman Thailand, but after only two events, awarded him the region. He started marketing the sport in India, Cambodia, Myanmar. The day he went on social media in the Philippines, he was flooded with interest. Inquiries, offers, questions, messages of support, all just kept coming. The country was soon poised to overtake Thailand even before any events involving Filipino fighters had even been held. The demand was overwhelming. And all the stories about Pinoy dominance were confirmed when, in his debut, Rolando Gabriel Dy dropped veteran Apisit Sangmuang (130 total fights, including muay thai) in the first 20 seconds of their bout in Thailand in December. Sangmuang eventually got up, weakly leaned on the ropes, then just slid back down to the floor, unconscious. Even the broadcast commentator was stunned silent. 

Since then, BKFC development in the Philippines has accelerated. Chapman was in the country earlier this week for a hectic slate of meetings. With the help of BusinessWorks Inc. chairman and corporate training expert Anthony Pangilinan, BKFC Asia is rapidly assembling a team of sports, business and broadcast professionals who will propel the Philippines to the top of the market in Asia and the world. It has also gotten the firm commitment of support of one of the nation’s biggest sports patrons. Things are moving unbelievably fast.

More about BKFC in an upcoming column.