BKFC 6 PPV numbers fall far below Feldman’s estimate

Earlier this week, BKFC President David Feldman proclaimed that BKFC 6 is estimated to have sold roughly 200,000 pay-per-views. This number would put the event ahead of several recent UFC cards, and represent a massive success for a relatively new company.

“We got our digital numbers right away,” Feldman told MMA Junkie. “In April, we did a certain amount, and in June, we did six times that digitally. It’s given us a gauge that we’re going to end up at the 200,000 line.”

Unfortunately, MMA Fighting‘s resident PPV expert Dave Meltzer is reporting that BKFC 6 sold a starkly different number of units than Feldman’s estimate: just 18,000.

According to Meltzer:

Reports the Paulie Malignaggi vs. Artem Lobov bare knuckle boxing match on June 22 did better numbers than UFC did on many of its pay-per-view shows appear to be greatly exaggerated.

Based on industry estimates, the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships look to have done in the range of 18,000 buys on traditional television pay-per-view. Digital numbers for FITE TV are unavailable, but it is extremely rare that a pay-per-view event that airs on television does nearly the same number on digital. The BKFC show is believed to have done well based on the standards of a FITE TV broadcast, but unless it’s a giant UFC or boxing event, doing even 25,000 buys on Internet pay-per-view is a rarity.

While this number is disappointing when compared to the 200,000 figure Feldman previously floated, it’s hard to deny that BKFC 6 was a success for the promotion. The event generated massive mainstream attention, which is a pretty rare occurrence for a promotion just six events into its existence. And, as Meltzer explains, anything north of 25,000 is a “rarity” for this kind of pay-per-view.

What did you think of the BKFC 6 card? Will you be buying the promotion’s next event?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/5/2019.