Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

Former Bellator MMA fighter Kevin Ferguson Jr., the son of the late fighting legend Kimbo Slice, will be returning to competition in January at a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event.

Per TMZ, Ferguson, also known as "Baby Slice," will be fighting 25-year-old TikTok star-turned-fighter Bryce Hall at BKFC's KnuckleMania V on Jan. 25 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The event is headlined by a fight between former UFC stars Eddie Alvarez and Jeremy Stephens. Alvarez is a former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion, while Stephens was a veteran known for his punching power.

Ferguson last fought in April 2023 at a Misfits Boxing event, suffering a second-round TKO loss to Okemka Jibunor. Hall, who is an investor in BKFC, previously competed in a bare-knuckle fight in 2023 and defeated Gee Perez by TKO.

Kimbo Slice was one of the most famous fighters ever, making a name for himself in streetfighting competitions in Miami. He went on to compete on The Ultimate Fighter reality series and he also fought for Bellator. He died in 2016 at the age of 42.

Conor McGregor, a co-owner of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, said Mike Perry is fired from the promotion after his loss to Jake Paul on Saturday.

"He doesn't f--king have a promotion, because me and him are both owners of BKFC, so he can't fire me," Perry said in response (2-minute mark). "We can fight in bare knuckle. Look at me. I lost to Jake Paul. Why don't you go fight Jake Paul and box him with the gloves on? I think it would be worse than Conor McGregor vs. Mayweather."

"That's f--ked up that he fired your BKFC champion," Paul said of McGregor (3:20 mark). "I told you that was going to happen. I told you exactly what was going to happen."

Perry joined the BKFC in 2021 after the expiration of his UFC contract. He's 5-0 in the promotion and has arguably become the biggest face in BKFC history.

McGregor joined the promotion's ownership group in April. It's unclear what level of power that allows him to wield, but it's clear Perry doesn't think his "firing" is anything to be taken seriously.

McGregor also took aim at Paul following the bout, calling the YouTuber-turned-boxer a "pissbag" and accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Those comments led Paul to challenge McGregor to step into the ring himself.

"He was big upping his boy Mike Perry — I said, 'OK Conor, after I f--k up Mike Perry, then you're next,'" Paul said (3-minute mark). "So Conor's on Twitter all the time. He's on his yacht all the time. Guess where he's not? In the ring, fighting me.

"So he can talk all the f--k he wants, but The Notorious MMA is scared of Jake Joseph Paul from Disney channel. And I put that on my mama."

McGregor has boxed just once in his fighting career, losing to Floyd Mayweather via TKO in 2017.

Ahead of his fight against Jake Paul on Saturday, Mike Perry announced he is starting his own combat sports organization called Dirty Boxing Championship, per TMZ Sports.

According to the new league's website, the sport will combine MMA with traditional boxing for a unique spin on combat sports.

"Dirty Boxing Championship is new super-fast and close-action combat sport that packs world class MMA and vintage boxing into a pair of five-ounce gloves and an 18-foot certifiably 'DIRTY' competition ring," the website says.

Dirty Boxing Championship will feature a "ground and pound" rule where fighters are allowed to strike an opponent while down. Fighters will also use five-ounce gloves "for more impact power while maintaining some protection to avoid broken knuckles and fingers."

The new sport will also "focus on finishes," disallowing grappling, kicking or submissions. The website explains that the organization will take a "talent first focus," with an emphasis on fair pay.

"Me and my team have been working on this for quite some time," Perry said. "We've tried to hint at this, we've been making way and we're ready to make the announcement that this is coming very soon. We're very close to being sanctioned by commissions and we're ready to get some athletes and get a card together and put a fight on sometime this year."

According to TMZ, Perry's opponent on Saturday, Paul, is among fighters who could potentially join the league.

Before Perry can shift his focus to his new organization, he'll look to get a big win against Paul on Saturday. Perry comes into the fight with an extensive MMA and bare-knuckle boxing background, but he's boxed professionally just once in 2015.

Paul was originally set to fight Mike Tyson in a boxing bout, but the legendary boxer had to postpone the fight due to a medical issue. Instead, he will take on Perry, who stepped up as a fill-in for Tyson.

Conor McGregor's return to the UFC was delayed by a toe injury last month, but it appears that he doesn't have a lot of time left in the company.

McGregor revealed on Thursday that he has just two fights remaining on his UFC contract, and he added that he's eyeing a potential run in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

McGregor became a part owner of BKFC earlier this year. His Proper Twelve and Forged Irish Stout have been sponsorship partners with the promotion. In 2023, he appeared at a BKFC event and expressed a desire to compete for the promotion one day. He even had an impromptu faceoff with BKFC star Mike Perry:

McGregor was expected to make his long-awaited return at UFC 303 on June 29 in a highly anticipated fight against Michael Chandler, but he was forced to withdraw from the card after suffering a broken pinky toe. The former two-division champion hasn't fought in the Octagon since July 2021 when he lost to Dustin Poirier for the second straight time and suffered a broken leg in the fight.

A new fight date for McGregor has yet to be announced, but it's expected that he will face Chandler later this year. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani provided some insight during Monday's episode of The MMA Hour.

"As of right now, as I said recently, the hope is Connor vs. Chandler in December," Helwani said. "On that Dec. 14 pay-per-view. Conor even tweeted to Michael Chandler a couple of days ago, saying, 'Just spoke to Dana [White], and everything is in place.' And he's hoping that he fights in 2024. So that's the layout, right there."

After facing Chandler, McGregor will be one fight away from hitting the open market. It would be a massive surprise if the UFC lets him walk, but the 36-year-old has the star power to dictate his next move. The UFC could have no choice but to let McGregor fulfill his goal of competing for BKFC.

Ryan Garcia recently mentioned that he'd be open to a bare-knuckle fight during his one-year suspension from boxing, and it sounds like there's a spot available for him.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship president Dave Feldman told TMZ that he "would be down to put Garcia on one of their international events."

Due to his suspension for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug ostarine from his fight against Devin Haney in April, Garcia wouldn't be licensed in America. Luckily, BKFC has multiple upcoming events overseas, including a card in the United Kingdom in August and another one in Spain in October.

Garcia told TMZ on Sunday that he's itching for a fight after the news broke of his suspension, and he's willing to test the waters outside of boxing to do so.

"I like 'Suga' Sean [O'Malley] cause he defended me [after cheating allegations]. But if he really wants to run it in the UFC, I'll run it. Or bare knuckle. S--t, I'm ready to fight anyone at this point," he said.

It now sounds like there's a chance Garcia will be able to get his wish. It's not yet clear who would be a viable opponent for the 25-year-old, but fans will certainly tune in to see him try his hand at bare-knuckle boxing.

After his fight against Mike Tyson was pushed back to Nov. 15, Jake Paul won't be waiting that long to get back into the ring.

Per ESPN's Andreas Hale, Paul will be fighting on the original fight date of July 20 against "Platinum" Mike Perry in an eight-round boxing match at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Paul and Tyson were originally set to face each other at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the fight was going to be the first combat sports event to be streamed live on Netflix. Instead, fans will have to wait a few more months to see Tyson back in the ring, as the former heavyweight champion had to pull out of the matchup due to a medical issue.

Rather than waiting to fight on the new date, Paul chose to remain active and face Perry, a former UFC fighter who currently competes in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and has an undefeated record of 5-0 with three knockouts. The fight will be broadcast on DAZN pay-per-view and is billed as "Fear No Man."

"When Paul vs. Tyson was rescheduled, I knew immediately that I wanted to still fight on Saturday, July 20. Now, as I prepare for my fight against Iron Mike, there's no better opponent for me than Mike Perry," Paul told Hale in a statement. "He's a proven knockout artist who has shown to be a maniac in and out of the ring. This is the perfect experience for me to gain in advance of facing Mike Tyson."

In addition to Paul choosing not to wait until November to return, Amanda Serrano also will be competing on the card ahead of her rematch with Katie Taylor. Serrano, who hasn't fought since October 2023, will be facing Stevie Morgan in a 10-round welterweight bout in the co-main event.

"The stakes are high for every single one of MVP's fighters stepping into the ring on Saturday, July 20. For Jake and Amanda, the pressure is on to emerge with a W against two very dangerous opponents in Mike Perry and Stevie Morgan," said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions. "Jake Paul is facing a monster in Mike Perry. Amanda Serrano is going in there with a fighter who has 13 KOs in 15 fights. Nothing is a given for our two superstars."

UFC star Conor McGregor announced Saturday he has purchased a minority stake in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships.

The former featherweight and lightweight champion broke into the middle of the KnuckleMania 4 broadcast to hype up his involvement in the promotion. BKFC president David Feldman followed up to say the deal will "move the needle tremendously."

In April 2023, McGregor showed up at BKFC 41. Holding a BKFC belt, he entered the squared circle and walked up to Mike Perry after Perry defeated Luke Rockhold in the main event. The 35-year-old proceeded to say BKFC had "an incredible setup here" with "incredible match-making."

The finer details of McGregor's agreement are unclear. For now, it's safe to assume he'll serve a largely ambassadorial role rather than fighting under the company's banner. He's scheduled to make his long-awaited UFC comeback against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29.

Chandler acknowledged how his opponent is growing his empire within combat sports:

Even if McGregor never headlines a BKFC card, his massive popularity is bound to provide the company with a lift now that he's officially a part-owner.