BKFC President releases statement after threatening fighter pay at BKFC 5

The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) held their fifth event last night with BKFC 5. And amid all the action was some controversy.

Before the event could get to its main event that featured former UFC featherweights Jason Knight and Artem Lobov, a less than entertaining bout between Rusty Crowder and Reggie Barnett took place. Barnett would wind up earning a clear unanimous decision victory.

Following the fight, BKFC President and Founder Dave Feldman entered the ring to address the fight… His comments would immediately garner backlash from the community.

”Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is a new sport and a brand new company and we’re here for action,” Feldman said after the bout. “And we want action and we demand action from the fighters. We didn’t get action in that last fight because Rusty Crowder wanted to run. Therefore he’s giving half his purse to Reggie Barnett. Make some noise, Biloxi! This is how we do it at Bare Knuckle, you fight or you don’t get paid.”

The legality of whether or not Feldman could even cut a fighter’s purse like that in the first place was in question. However, today the BKFC boss would release a statement to clarify why he said what he did following the uneventful bout.

“I am passionate about this sport and the building process. The fighters get paid very well. All I ask is that they fight their hearts out. I tell the fighters that the companies growth depends on their performance. At the time I thought it was the right thing to do, but did what I thought was right so, after the fight Rusty was paid what he was contracted to be paid. We had a talk and he understands what I meant. It was more of a knee jerk reaction, because he didn’t try to fight. That being said, we couldn’t be happier with the results of last nights event and look forward to what to the future holds.” Feldman’s statement read.

Aside from the fight that brought Feldman’s comments out, BKFC 5 more than delivered in excitement.

The next event will take place in June as former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi returns to take his gloves off and meet with the BKFC 5 main event winner, the aforementioned Lobov.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/7/2019