Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

Greg Hardy's first appearance in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship didn't go as he planned.

The former Pro Bowl defensive end was knocked out by Josh Watson early in the second round of their fight on Friday night.

UPSET CITY!!! Josh Watson stops Greg Hardy! #KnuckleMania3 pic.twitter.com/qFrv28eoq7

— TrillerTV (@Triller_TV) February 18, 2023

There's an argument that the fight shouldn't have even reached that point. Watson dropped Hardy late in the first round, but the former Carolina Panthers player didn't hit the mat because he fell into the ropes.

Referee Dan Miragliotta issued a standing 10 count and determined Hardy was able to continue fighting. The bell rang to stop the round, giving him a few moments to recover before the start of the second round.

It took less than 10 seconds into round two before Watson knocked Hardy out to stop the fight.

This was the first appearance for Hardy in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. He signed a multi-fight contract with the promotion in June.

Hardy's shift to bare-knuckle fighting came after he tried his hand at mixed martial arts. He had two fights for Dana White's Contender Series and competed in Xtreme Fight Night before receiving a UFC contract.

The 34-year-old had 10 fights in UFC from 2019 to '22. He went 4-5 with one no contest before his contract expired after a TKO loss to Sergey Spivak at UFC 272.

This was Hardy's fourth consecutive loss overall in combat sports. He lost each of his last three fights in UFC by knockout or TKO.

Hardy had a six-year NFL career from 2010 to '15. He spent his first five seasons with the Panthers before joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2015.

In July 2014, Hardy was sentenced to 18 months of probation and a 60-day suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of assault and communicating threats stemming from his arrest for allegedly grabbing an ex-girlfriend, strangling her and threatening to kill her.

Hardy appealed the decision and had his charges dismissed when his accuser did not make herself available to help with the case.

The charges were officially expunged from Hardy's record in 2015.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has its eyes on some big names as it tries to expand its roster.

BKFC CEO David Feldman told TMZ Sports he made an offer to Tyson Fury, although he can't sign him until he completes his three more contracted boxing matches.

"It was a different kind of deal," Feldman explained. "I mean it was a deal where [Fury would] be involved in the growth of this thing and maybe get a piece of the company. At this time he can't do it right now, but we're gonna revisit that."

Fury is scheduled to defend his WBC title against Derek Chisora on Dec. 3, while there have also been discussions on bouts with Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua for 2023.

The Gypsy King would still be worth the wait for BKFC as one of the biggest stars in combat sports. Fury remains undefeated at 32-0-1 and is considered by ESPN as the No. 6 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Nate Diaz could also be a high-profile option for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship after completing his contract with UFC.

"Realistically, I want Nate Diaz," Feldman said. "We weren't allowed to make a play for him yet because he was in that UFC [exclusivity] window."

Diaz won his last UFC fight against Tony Ferguson in December, but his future with the organization remains uncertain. He also had an offer to join Jake Paul in the United Fighters Association while teasing a potential role in WWE.

For a not-insignificant portion of the population, the world’s most famous MMA fighter is Paige VanZant.

You might remember Paige. In 2016, as an active fighter in the UFC, she turned heads with a second-place showing on ABC’s runaway hit Dancing With the Stars. For a brief but undeniable window there, she was damn near America’s sweetheart.

After her star turn, she eventually returned to the UFC. But she never really regained her mojo there, losing two of three before washing out of the promotion.

Don’t cry too hard for VanZant. She had options, not the least of which was her ability to pitch products to her 3-plus million Instagram followers.

As it turns out, she wasn’t done with competition quite yet. What else could she do? She didn’t land with UFC rival Bellator, which has a pretty competitive women’s flyweight division, or another show like Asia’s ONE Championship.

Instead, she chose bare-knuckle boxing. Specifically, the Pennsylvania-based Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, or BKFC.

BKFC has been around since 2018. In case you aren't familiar, the key principles are:

- Fighters may wrap and tape their wrist, thumb, and mid-hand. However, no gauze or tape is allowed within one inch of the knuckles.

- Punches with a closed fist are the only strikes allowed.

- Fights are five two-minute rounds.

Let’s be clear: VanZant was never exactly a world-beater. There’s a reason her career MMA record is 8-5. VanZant’s status with BKFC is currently unclear. She signed with pro wrestling outfit AEW this spring but appeared to stay committed to BKFC. However, her August bout with Charisa Sigala was abruptly canceled. VanZant has also lost her two BKFC bouts to date.

Still, VanZant helped bring heat to the brand, and more fighters are taking notice. It’s no secret that Bellator, PFL, ONE and others routinely find themselves jockeying for the scraps off the UFC’s table. This could mean aging big names, disgruntled fighters or just those who weren’t good enough to stay in the big show.

Now, seemingly out of nowhere, the ultra-violent carnival show was vulturing fairly famous names away from the more established and respected promotions. It's been a banner year for BKFC.

Earlier this year, former featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes made and won his BKFC debut.

Just last month, former flyweight contender John Dodson entered the BKFC ring, scoring a first-round knockout of another UFC veteran in Ryan Benoit.

In August, a bout between Mike Perry and former Bellator striking wizard Michael “Venom” Page went into a grueling, tiebreaking sixth round, with Perry outlasting Page in a brutal contest that had social media buzzing.

Bare Knuckle boxing was made specifically for Mike Perry

— Heavyweight Thanos (@FinalXNotices) August 20, 2022

In July, Felice Herrig, who gained fame on The Ultimate Fighter and was one of the early players in the UFC’s strawweight division, signed a multi-fight deal with BKFC.

Hardcore fans took notice when the promotion signed famed Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek in July. He’s 40 now, but his debut there could be interesting.

The Buakaw signing shows that BKFC has its finger on the pulse of what could spark interest from hardcore fight fans. At the risk of stating the obvious, that’s the target BKFC demographic.

So, what’s happening here? It could have something to do with the UFC’s ongoing habit of underpaying its athletes. Think of bare-knuckle fighting as a rather visceral retirement plan.

It’s hard to know for sure how much money is in play here, but it's obviously part of the attraction. Although contract terms and payouts are often not disclosed, VanZant’s four-fight deal was purportedly a “multimillion-dollar” agreement, and included opportunities for things like commentary. Mendes said he's going to outearn what UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou got paid for his latest fight.

On the other hand, Dodson made only a reported $75,000 for his debut win at BKFC 28—the highest purse on that card.

For as violent and dangerous as bare-knuckle fighting is, it’s easier training work than MMA, where many other skill sets besides punching are in play. But the real pull is the money, and there’s an interesting underpinning here.

In February, BKFC sold a majority stake to Triller, a video-sharing social network (think Tik-Tok) that also stages music and combat sports events. Triller might be best known for giving Jake Paul his start in boxing before he jumped to Showtime.

Triller wasn’t shy about pumping money into these events, but the returns haven’t been there. After acquiring other companies, Triller lost a reported $700 million in 2021, and it has yet to turn a profit.

Novelty Triller bouts like Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva vs. Tito Ortiz failed to move the needle. Triller is now being sued, among other troubles.

All of that is to say that the BKFC spigot appears to be flowing now, at least for its top stars. However, that could be slowing to a drip if Triller’s problems continue and BKFC stays under its banner.

Ultimately, BKFC, for all of its bloodsporty intrigue, doesn’t have anywhere near the prestige of the UFC or other MMA promotions. For fighters to continue gravitating toward bare-knuckle over the sport where they made their careers, the money will have to continue to do the talking.

BKFC fans should enjoy the show while they can, because it could be about to get a lot quieter.

Former NFL player Greg Hardy has signed a multifight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship after leaving UFC, according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

"I'm back and ready to knock everyone out in the baddest promotion there is," Hardy said. "Everyone knows I can knock people out, and that's what I'm planning on doing. I can't wait to take the gloves off and rumble for BKFC."

Hardy spent three years in UFC but his contract was not renewed and he was removed from the official roster in March. He went 7-5 with one no contest during his mixed martial arts career, but won just four of his 10 competitions in UFC.

The 33-year-old dealt with inexperience early in his career, suffering a disqualification in his first UFC fight for using an illegal knee. In 2019, a win over Ben Sosoli was changed to a no contest due to Hardy using an inhaler between rounds.

As his career progressed, he struggled against higher competition with three straight losses against Serghei Spivac, Tai Tuivasa and Marcin Tybura.

Hardy will now try to translate his skill set to bare-knuckle boxing—helped by the fact six of his seven MMA wins came by knockout.

He's still best known for his football career which spanned five seasons with the Carolina Panthers and one with the Dallas Cowboys. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2013 when he tallied 15 sacks.

In 2015, Hardy was accused of attacking and threatening his ex-girlfriend.