BKFC President, Dave Feldman, recently made an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to discuss the future of his bare-knuckle promotion.
One of the topics that came up was the potential signing of UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Feldman revealed that he had made a play for Ngannou but the parties were simply too far apart to make it happen.
According to Feldman, Ngannou was asking for more than BKFC could offer at this time. The dollar amount was simply too high for the promotion to meet.
“No, I don’t think we’re going to bring him over,” Feldman revealed.
“The dollar amount… Look, I’m honest. I’m straight up. I go after guys I think I can get, but after they started talking bout all the things they wanted, it wasn’t in our wheelhouse right now.”
Feldman’s honesty about the situation means that Francis Ngannou won’t be going there after making his boxing debut. Ngannou confirmed he’s negotiating with MMA promotions to continue his MMA career after several boxing outings.
It was also leaked that Ngannou is seeking roughly $30 million payday for a boxing outing which isn’t outside the realm of possibilities considering his popularity.
BKFC 41 will mark the promotion’s return to Colorado in April and will include the promotional debuts of former UFC champions Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez. This will surely be a must-see event for combat sports fans.
Is there a chance Nate Diaz could sign with BKFC?
BKFC is still on the lookout for other talent to add to their roster. One name that is still on the playing field is Nate Diaz. After completing his contract with the UFC in September, Diaz is now a free agent and BKFC is hoping to procure his talents in the near future.
According to Feldman, they’re having ongoing conversations with Diaz and some of his guys will compete on their March and April cards.
However, there’s a concern about Diaz’s scar tissue and how he might fare getting hit in bare knuckle.
“Diaz, we’re having ongoing conversations with him. We’re gonna have some of his guys fight on our March and April cards. He should be in attendance and we’re looking to do some things with him and we’re gonna see what happens. ”
“I’m not really sure what he wants to do. He’s got a lot of scar tissue and getting hit with a bare knuckle might not be great for him. It might be great for him. We’ll find out as these next couple of weeks go by, but his team has been great to deal with. Really great to deal with.”