Bare Knuckle FC is establishing a pension plan for its fighters, BKFC President David Feldman announced on Thursday, April 1.
No, that’s not an April Fool’s joke. In what is seemingly an industry first, the bare knuckle boxing outfit will commence with the pension plan as of their next event, BKFC 17 on April 30, 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama.
The news was announced in a press release Thursday, and by Feldman himself, appearing on the official BKFC podcast.
“Our fighters are the most important asset of the company,” said Feldman. ‘We want to ensure that they are compensated not only on the night of the fight but also looked after in retirement. For each BKFC fight, money will be placed in a pension account for them to draw on upon retirement.”
Specifics of the plan were not provided. However, Feldman called it the “first ever combat sports pension for the fighters.”
“We’re going to put a little money away for them each and every one of their fights. We’re going to hold it for them for about five years or so at least. And then they can have some money to fall back on,” he stated during the podcast appearance.
“At the end of the day, these fights that you’re showing, these highlights that you’re showing, it’s the fighters. So you’ve got to take care of them.”
BKFC made its debut in 2018, and has seen steady growth as the sport of bareknuckle boxing has been legalized in several territories since the promotion’s launch. During its short existence, it has managed to sign a few sizeable names, including former UFC darling Paige VanZant, who made her debut earlier this year. Artem Lobov, Chris Leiben, and Leonard Garcia (the latter two of which retired off wins in BKFC) have also made their way to the company.
