SUMMARY
- The pay scale for the bare-knuckle fighters varies according to their status and the fight's importance to the promotion.
- In 2021, BKFC held a heavyweight tournament, with the winner taking home a $1 million paycheck.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, or BKFC, is an American combat sports promotion based out of Philadelphia. BKFC is solely responsible for bringing and legalizing bare-knuckle boxing back into combat sports. It was founded in 2018, not so long ago, and has grown immensely over the last 5 years. It has been reaching new heights under the tutelage of its founder and CEO, David Feldman.
In fact, BKFC is considered by many to be the fastest-growing MMA promotion of the last five years. And all statistics back this claim. Even UFC pales in front of the spontaneous progress that BKFC has made over the past few years. Cementing its place amongst MMA organizations is no joke whatsoever. But BKFC has successfully done so in a short period of time.
It has played a part in bringing about a dynamic change in the MMA landscape. Each of its events is often more exciting than the last one. With a more graphic and aggressive kind of fighting prevalent inside the ring. Apart from its sporting glamour, BKFC also holds the key to being financially efficient towards its fighters, with most fighters being content with their contracts and payouts.
What is the average fight purse of BKFC fighters?
So let’s take a look at what makes BKFC’s fighters content with their earnings. How much does the average fighter in BKFC earn? Because before 2018, bare-knuckle boxing was not a thing outside of underground fighting, BKFC has come a long way. Providing a platform for fighters to showcase their skills in this dynamic sport.
The pay scale for these bare-knuckle fighters varies according to their status and the fight’s importance to the BKFC. A low-end bout in the BKFC is said to earn the fighters around, or slightly more than, $2,500 for the fight as of 2020. While high-profile fighters taking part in high-profile bouts are said to earn around 5-6 figure deals.
Incredible action out the gate at the @ForgedStout inaugural Bare Knuckle event in Miami! Wow! Enjoying happily ❤️🙏 @bareknucklefc pic.twitter.com/nvll8QPKsu
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 3, 2024
The top end of the chain is definitely earning the 6-figure mark per fight. Typically, a PPV event correlates to a larger paycheck for the fighters involved. It should be duly noted that in 2021, BKFC held a heavyweight tournament, with the winner taking home a $1 million paycheck. But this is still not the highest that a fighter has made off one fight in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Rather, it was very recently that not one but two fighters earned around $1 million each for a single fight. This undoubtedly marks the highest amount of money a fighter has received for a single bout in BKFC’s history. Eddie ‘The Underground King’ Alvarez and Mike ‘Platinum’ Perry fought in the main event of BKFC 56, which recently concluded, resulting in a ‘Platinum’ victory.
Renowned names in the BKFC and their reported payouts
BKFC has seen some renowned MMA fighters feature in their events. Not only that, it has also hosted a blockbuster event with a main event featuring internet sensation Bryce Hall. It has only helped develop the promotion and garner even more attention. For his win over Gee Perez at BKFC 48, Hall reportedly pocketed a guaranteed payout of $150,000.
@BryceHall Full fight here! https://t.co/wvAUoA1vRD
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) August 12, 2023
Many UFC fighters have been a huge part of BKFC over the years. Most notably, Mike Perry, who is undoubtedly the man to watch out for in the BKFC, has struck a new deal worth $8 million with the BKFC. He reportedly pocketed around $1 million for his recently concluded fight against Eddie Alvarez, who himself was earning $600,000 before the $1 million he won in his large fight.
Paige VanZant is another notable name who has been earning way more than what she did at the UFC. In 2023, she gave an interview to The Sun in which she said, “I was in the UFC for six years, getting paid $40,000 (to show) and $40,000 (to win), and now I’m getting 10 times that doing what I love.” Even Mike Perry has claimed to earn more than double what he did at the UFC in the past.
The UFC pays their fighters around $10K to $30K for each fight, excluding performance bonuses. This is not comparable to what BKFC pays their high-profile fighters. With many currently earning around $400K-$500K per fight, their top fighters are nearing even a million dollars on some occasions.
With BKFC looking to capture new heights with each passing day, it seems only reasonable that the pay structures of fighters on the roster of the organization will keep on getting more and more luxurious. And there will only be a few MMA fans who wouldn’t want that to happen. BKFC’s fighter’s pay draws stark contrasts to that of the UFC, which is battling an antitrust lawsuit regarding the same.
