Okay, so the other day I got curious about bare knuckle fighting. You see it popping up more, right? And I started wondering, what do these guys actually get paid? It looks brutal, gotta be some decent money involved, I thought.
My First Steps – Hitting the Web
So, like anyone else, I just opened up my browser. I typed in stuff like “bare knuckle fighter pay”, “BKFC fighter salary”, “how much do bare knuckle fighters earn”. You know, the usual suspects.
Right away, I got a mix of things. Some news articles talking about big fights, some forum threads where people were guessing, and a few sites that looked kinda official but didn’t give hard numbers easily. It wasn’t like looking up salaries for NBA players, that’s for sure. Lots of talk, not many solid figures.
Trying to Get Specific
I realized general searches weren’t cutting it. I needed to dig deeper. I started looking for specific event reports. Sometimes after a big fight, news outlets might mention the reported payouts, especially for the main event guys. So I searched for specific fighter names plus “purse” or “payout”.
I also tried checking out the websites of the bigger promotions, like BKFC. I poked around their news sections and fighter profiles. Still, they don’t just list salaries publicly. It’s not really in their interest, I guess. Keeps negotiations private.
What I Found (and Didn’t Find)
Okay, here’s the deal based on what I could piece together. It’s all over the place.
- Big Names vs. Newbies: The well-known fighters, guys maybe coming over from MMA or boxing, they can pull in decent cash. We’re talking maybe tens of thousands, sometimes even six figures for a huge main event fight, based on some reports I saw. But these are the exceptions, the top draws.
- The Underneath: For guys just starting out or fighting on the undercard? It’s way, way less. I saw numbers mentioned that were just a few thousand dollars. Sometimes even lower, like a grand or two for showing up and another grand or two if they win. That’s rough, considering the damage they take.
- Contracts are Key: It seems like it really depends on the fighter’s contract with the promotion. Like any sport, your agent, your drawing power, your record – it all matters.
- Sponsorships?: I also thought about sponsors. Like in boxing or MMA, maybe they get extra money from gear companies or whatever? It was hard to find solid info on this specifically for bare knuckle, but I assume the bigger names probably have some sponsorship deals on the side. That’s usually how it works.
- Transparency Issues: The biggest thing I noticed? Nobody really has to report the exact payouts publicly in many cases, unlike some state athletic commissions that oversee boxing/MMA. This makes getting accurate, consistent numbers really tricky. Lots of rumors, lots of estimates, but few official confirmed lists.
Putting it Together
So, after clicking around, reading articles, and scanning forums, my conclusion is this: Don’t expect every bare knuckle fighter to be driving a Ferrari. A very small number at the top, the headline acts, probably make good money, enough to live comfortably off fighting for a while. Think maybe $20,000 to $100,000+ for the absolute stars in huge fights, based on the higher-end reports I stumbled upon.
But for the majority? The guys filling out the fight cards? They’re likely making much, much less. We’re probably talking low thousands per fight, maybe something like $2,000 to show and $2,000 to win as a common starting point I saw mentioned a few times. They might need other jobs to get by. It’s a tough way to make a living, definitely requires passion for the sport itself, because the guaranteed riches just aren’t there for most.
It was an interesting dive, though. Made me respect what these fighters go through even more, knowing the pay isn’t always massive, especially lower down the ladder. It’s not as simple as one number fits all.
