Latest news with #ChampionsSummit
USA Today
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
David Feldman: Several fighters already turned down Yoel Romero for BKFC debut
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – David Feldman is already struggling to find an opponent for Yoel Romero's BKFC debut. Former UFC and Bellator title challenger Romero was introduced to the BKFC roster during Thursday's Champions Summit press conference. The BKFC president revealed that Romero will make his promotional debut in fall, but they're still trying to find him a matchup. "We have a couple of guys who already turned it down, and then we just had one guy that said he would take it," Feldman told MMA Junkie. "We don't know if that fight is going to happen, but I'm very excited about it – especially because he's going to make his debut Sept. 12 here at the Hard Rock. So in Miami, where he's from, and to see Yoel Romero with the gloves off, I mean, that's a dangerous thing." BKFC also signed former UFC fighters Thiago Santos, Aspen Ladd, and Derek Brunson, which has Feldman excited at the growth of the company. "It's amazing," Feldman said. "It's just like a testament to never giving up, and that's the truth because I wanted to quit like 20 times. This is not easy. This is hard. If you're not 120 percent fully committed to making this thing work, it can't work. I'm happy we saw it through, because a couple of times we actually hit dead ends, and we were like, 'This is over,' and we found a way to keep it going. "Now I think we're one of the top combat sports promotions in the entire world. Everybody's excited about it. We've got the biggest guy in all of combat sports as our partner, Conor McGregor, so things are going really, really great for us, and I'm very, very happy where we're at."
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
David Feldman on whether Conor McGregor ever fights in BKFC: 'Why wouldn't he?'
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – David Feldman isn't ruling out the possibility of Conor McGregor competing in the squared circle. McGregor, part-owner of BKFC, oversaw Thursday's Champions Summit press conference alongside Feldman, the promotion's president. Although "The Notorious" hasn't competed in the UFC since July 2021, he still has two fights left on his contract. With McGregor previously expressing interest in competing for BKFC, Feldman says the former UFC dual-champion would have everything to gain from doing so. "If he gets those two (UFC) fights done, 100 percent he does," Feldman told MMA Junkie. "But that's a long way away. If he has the drive to do it, which I think (he does) ... I've seen a different Conor McGregor. You see different Conor McGregors. You see a guy who's like, 'Hey, let me run for President, and let me do different things.' "Then you could see the guy who wants to take care of his family really good, which he always does. But take care of his family, go to the gym and train, and I know which Conor I'm getting, and I'm getting that Conor right now. So I wouldn't be surprised. And why wouldn't he, though? It's going to help skyrocket the equity that he has, so why wouldn't he?" McGregor's personality was on full display during the press conference, at which he even got in Mike Perry's face. Feldman recounted his experience working with McGregor. "Look, Conor is a difficult guy to work with if you don't understand him," Feldman said. "I understand him 100 percent. I know what he's good at it, he knows what I'm good at, and we bounce off each other very, very well. If you don't, if you have a problem, if you have an ego, you're not going to work with Conor McGregor. I don't. I just want to see the company go to the top, and he's going to help take me there."
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Video: Conor McGregor oversees wild faceoffs at BKFC Champions Summit
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – BKFC capped off its Champions Summit press conference with a few intense staredowns between competitors. The bareknuckle promotion's seasonal press conference hyped up its upcoming championship matches, along with announcing multiple UFC veterans to its roster. At the conclusion of the presser, fighters came face-to-face with their opponent, some keeping security busy to prevent brawls. There were also faceoffs for unconfirmed fights that the promotion could put together in the future, such as Mike Perry vs. Dave Mundell and Leonardo Perdomo vs. Ben Rothwell. Faceoffs for confirmed bouts included: Check out video of the faceoffs in the video above.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
BKFC announces Yoel Romero signing, along with other UFC veterans
Yoel Romero is taking off the gloves. No, the former UFC and Bellator title challenger is not retiring. Instead, Romero is heading to BKFC to test his hands in bareknuckle boxing competition. The 48-year-old fighter was announced as an addition to the promotion's roster Thursday by co-owner Conor McGregor at the Champions Summit press conference in Hollywood, Fla. Romero exited the UFC following a middleweight title challenge loss against Israel Adesanya at UFC 248 in March 2020. He then made the jump to Bellator, where he put together a 3-2 record, including a light heavyweight title challenge against Vadim Nemkov. Romero's run in Bellator concluded at PFL vs. Bellator, where he picked up a unanimous decision win over fellow former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos, who was also announced as a signing to BKFC. Most recently, Romero has competed under the custom rules of Dirty Boxing. In two fights, he stopped Duane Crespo last November and Ras Hylton in March. In addition to the signings of Romero and Santos, BKFC also announced the addition of Aspen Ladd, who went 3-2 under the PFL and Bellator banners after exiting the UFC in 2022, and Derek Brunson, who made one appearance in PFL after his UFC exit in 2023.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Video: Conor McGregor hosts BKFC Champions Summit press conference LIVE (7 p.m. ET)
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The BKFC champions are gathering together for a massive press conference Thursday evening. The Champions' Summit, which goes down at the Hard Rock, features 15 champions and three title contenders. Among those in attendance will be former UFC fighters Mike Perry, Ben Rothwell, and John Dodson, as well as former boxing champion Austin Trout. The press conference is set to be moderated by UFC star and BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor, along with BKFC president David Feldman. Advertisement You can watch the official live stream of the Champions' Summit starting at 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT in the video above. Here's the list of participants scheduled to be at the BKFC Champions' Summit: 'Platinum' Mike Perry -- BKFC 'King of Violence' champion 'King' Kai Stewart -- BKFC featherweight champion 'Big'Ben Rothwell -- BKFC heavyweight champion Christine 'Misfit' Ferea – BKFC women's Ffyweight champion Dave 'The Redneck' Mundell – BKFC middleweight champion Britain Hart – BKFC women's strawweight champion Ben Bonner – BKFC interim lightweight champion John 'The Magician' Dodson – BKFC flyweight champion Josh 'D-Day' Dyer – BKFC light heavyweight champion Austin 'No Doubt' Trout – Former BKFC welterweight champion Jessica 'The Black Widow' Borge – BKFC women's featherweight champion Julian 'Let Me Bang' Lane – BKFC welterweight title Contender Gorjan 'GoGo' Slaveski – BKFC welterweight title contender Gary Fox – BKFC featherweight UK champion Connor 'The Brum Town Bomber' Tierney – BKFC welterweight UK champion Agi Faulkner – BKFC heavyweight European champion Rico 'Bon Bon' Franco – BKFC welterweight European champion Karl 'The Wasp' Thompson – BKFC cruiserweight UK champion This press conference precedes the promotion's BKFC 78 event this Saturday at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. A heavyweight clash between former BKFC heavyweight champion Arnold Adams and Cuba's Leonardo Perdomo headlines the card. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: BKFC Champions Summit press conference hosted by Conor McGregor
