BKFC mounts Philippines ‘invasion’

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships Asia (BKFC Asia) is bent on making the Philippines a major hub for the sport in the next few years. This drive was ignited not by any external forces, but by Filipino fighters themselves from all over the world. Right after BKFC Asia was launched in Thailand a few years ago, they were inundated with calls from Pinoys who wanted to fight.

“After the first event, I don’t know why, but for some reason I was getting messages from the Filipinos more than anywhere else in the world, wanting to fight,” reveals former MMA fighter and BKFC Asia owner Nick Chapman.  “And of course, I love the Philippines. I love the people. I love the culture. The Philippines is an amazing place. For me, it just seems like the perfect place to bring BKFC.”

Bare-knuckle boxing harks back to the earliest days of the sport. Fighters wear unpadded, fingerless gloves and fight in a round ring. Running from your opponent is penalized. And if the contest is considered a draw after five rounds, a sixth and deciding round is sought on the spot.

To personally test the waters in the Philippines, Chapman visited the country a year and a half ago, meeting with high-powered sports people and potential sponsors. And as is BKFC’s standard operating procedure, he hand-picked Filipino fighters Rolando Dy and Joemill Miado to debut in a BKFC event in Thailand. Both knocked out their more experienced opponents in the first round. Dy didn’t even take half a minute. But beyond the result, Chapman spotted something that is difficult to find in this part of the world: showmanship.

“They’re not just amazing fighters,” Chapman explains. “They’re really great people to work with. And they also know to entertain a crowd an audience. The Thai people are lovely people. But they don’t have that outgoing and fantastic character that really brought people to want to watch them fight a lot.”

BKFC Asia had already been mapping out its Philippine invasion, but a lucrative offer from the Middle East came along, impacting the calendar for the sport in the region. The professional promoter in Chapman prefers to do things the right way. Once dates and venues are set, he will devote his full attention to the Philippines, which he sees as the next big thing in bare-knuckle boxing.

“The Filipino fighters are some of the toughest on the planet,” he declares. “They’re literally growing up boxing. They know how to entertain a crowd. I mean they’re brilliant inside and outside of the ring. They’re some of the nicest, easiest people I’ve ever had to work with. We do things properly. I just think that, if they help us, we can help them.”

We have much to look forward to.