BYB Extreme and BKB logos. BYB Extreme and BKB logos.

Bare-knuckle fighting is set for a big shift.

On Wednesday, Florida-based promotion BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting announced that they acquired UK-based promotion BKB, bringing two of the most prominent organizations in the space together and giving BYB significant additional live and library rights. BKB founders Jim Freeman and Joe Smith-Brown will stay on to play roles in the combined entity’s European business.

Here’s more on that from a release:

BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series Owner and President Mike Vazquez announced today that the company has acquired London-based BKB, the world’s first professional bare knuckle boxing promotion, who has successfully promoted forty bare knuckle events which are broadcast in over thirty-five different countries with millions of fans and viewers worldwide.

As bare knuckle continues to grow in popularity, and sponsorship of live programming in sports remain at a premium, John Bryan, a pioneering leader with expertise in media distribution and with more than 20 years working at MGM, Disney and Warner Brothers and who is leading BYB’s broadcast and streaming partnership efforts, notes:

“The future is now. Major consumer brands and mainstream broadcasters and streaming services are quickly recognizing the untapped value of bare knuckle fighting and its inevitable impact on the market. BYB pioneered the sport and, having put together a sustainable roadmap for both the organization and the sport’s international growth, BYB has just accelerated this entire process by instantly increasing not only its live show output, but also its sponsored content library.”

Both Freeman and Smith-Brown will stay with BYB in an executive capacity, as Freeman will continue to handle day-to-day operations for BYB in Europe, and Smith-Brown will also stay on with BYB to oversee continued European expansion.

There have already been some big recent moves for BYB. CEO Greg Bloom spoke to AA about their rise in April 2023, which included discussion of the growth he saw ahead. And BYB has hit some of that already, including boosting their international fights, bringing in prominent execs Bryan and David Armour in January, and announcing a broadcast expansion in February across Fuse, Fight Network, and BeIN Sports Extra. They’ve also fended off criticisms of the sport from the likes of Stephen A. Smith.

We’ll see where BYB and bare-knuckle fighting as a whole goes from here. But the acquisition of the 2015-founded BKB (which has been particularly known for the success of its U.K. events) should boost its scale and international brand. And Vasquez and Bloom are certainly optimistic about what this move will mean, as seen in further quotes from this release.

Said Vazquez: “This is an unprecedented tipping point in mainstream bare knuckle fighting globally. Since the inception of both companies, we’ve maintained and developed a working relationship with BKB that has showcased cross-promotional fights since 2021, giving fans what they truly want and deserve: the best fighters in the world, taking the gloves off and facing one another in the oldest and purest form of combat sports. This acquisition was a natural next step in becoming the biggest, baddest bare knuckle company in the world, with the largest international footprint and over 250 fighters from six continents and over two dozen countries, not to mention broadcasting on numerous platforms, globally, and to millions of people.”

Said Bloom: “Make no mistake, BYB and bare knuckle fighting is taking over the combat sports world, with a trajectory not much different than the UFC and MMA were on twenty years ago. BYB has positioned itself as the far-and-away leader in advancing the sport of bare knuckle fighting both domestically and internationally. We have come a long way since Dada 5000’s backyard, but we’ve grown strategically, maintaining full control of the product, its ownership and its intellectual property, and have continued to uphold the highest standards of professionalism. We have a brand ready-made for mass consumption, and the addition of BKB exponentially strengthens our product, worldwide, as bare knuckle goes mainstream.”

Smith-Brown also spoke there about why this was the right move for BKB.

“Over the past decade, we’ve had the pleasure of growing alongside BYB, and in doing so are proud to have paved the way for bare knuckle to grow throughout Europe and the World. BKB has been instrumental in ushering the fastest-growing combat sport on the planet to meet its growing international demand. We are proud to have created one of the world’s leading combat sports companies, and the acquisition by BYB is evidence of that. From here, the sky’s the limit. There’s now no better place or bigger stage than BYB for fighters and fans alike in the bare knuckle arena.”

It will be interesting to watch how this acquisition plays out. But it’s certainly made BYB much larger, and given them an even more notable chunk of the combat sports landscape.

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.