A venture into the bare-knuckle boxing ring may still be in Till's future after all.
A venture into the bare-knuckle boxing ring may still be in Darren Till's fighting future.
Till, 32, has found new life in combat sports since parting ways with the UFC in early 2023. The brash Brit regained momentum under the Misfits Boxing banner, winning all three of his matches in 2025, punctuated by vicious knockouts of Anthony Taylor and former UFC champion Luke Rockhold. Another collision with a former UFC name — Mike Perry — has long been bandied about by Till, and while the matchup has yet to happen under any ruleset, both Till and Perry continue to tease an eventual meeting.
BKFC founder Dave Feldman has discussed the prospect of Till competing in bare-knuckle and hopes it can still happen. During an in-studio appearance Wednesday on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Feldman said he fully intends to book Perry vs. Till if the former defeats Jeremy Stephens this Saturday at BKFC 82.
"It's weird that Till [criticized the sport of bare-knuckle boxing], because he's nonstop calling me. Nonstop. We're going to do a deal. I'm confident we are," Feldman told Uncrowned.
"Listen, he expresses interest, then he goes in a different direction. But he's reached out a lot this time. So when he calls you after this and he says, 'Let me clear that up' — he went on vacation to go see his daughter in Brick Hill [in England], we talked a lot during that, and we're going to go over to the U.K. and try to get a deal done with him."
Thanks to their semi-playful rivalry over the years, Perry vs. Till feels like a bout that has enough juice and star power behind it that a Perry loss on Saturday wouldn't affect public interest. Feldman, however, disagrees; he said Wednesday that he won't try to make the fight if Stephens plays spoiler at BKFC 82.
"It's a big if, because Jeremy Stephens in bare-knuckle is no slouch, and this is a great fight. But we'll see," Feldman said. "Mike Perry hasn't been knocking out his guys in BKFC, but he's been breaking everybody he's fought. We'll see if he can break Jeremy Stephens.
"I want Till vs. Perry. I'm not rooting against Jeremy Stephens, but I want Till vs. Perry. But if it's Stephens [who wins], we'll figure something else out."
This weekend's Stephens match marks Perry's long-awaited return to BKFC after being absent from the promotion since a 60-second finish of Thiago Alves in April 2024. A boxing loss to Jake Paul followed shortly after, which caused a brief rift between Perry and Feldman, in part due to Perry's launch of his Dirty Boxing promotion. But Feldman says their relationship today is in a good place, and he looks forward to seeing what the future holds for Perry with two fights left on his contract after Stephens.
That being said, BKFC finds itself in somewhat of a tricky spot on Saturday, Feldman admitted.
The promotion typically tries to avoid competing directly with the UFC on event days, unless the MMA giant is hosting a smaller Fight Night show. But Saturday also hosts UFC 320, headlined by the rematch between UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev and combat sports star Alex Pereira. Feldman acknowledged that he's feeling the effects of the card for his upcoming gloveless spectacle.
"I was hoping for a sellout, but it doesn't look like we're going to get there, to be honest with you," Feldman said. "I think we're going to be in the 11,000 to 12,000 person range, which is very, very respectable going up against a UFC event up in here in north Jersey, but we were hoping to get about 16,000. We didn't get there.
"I'm not very disappointed. I didn't schedule this to go up against the UFC. I scheduled it first, and then they came on it. I would never have scheduled it against the UFC, especially a pay-per-view event of this magnitude. To go up against a UFC pay-per-view of this magnitude and still sell 11,000, 12,000 tickets, I'm happy."
The MMA trickle-over has been a successful business model for Feldman and BKFC, with its recruitment of several notable UFC legends and former champions. Even on the promotional side, the superstar presence of Conor McGregor has been felt regularly since his co-ownership began in April 2024.
McGregor's last fight took place in July 2021, when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. Although he's repeatedly teased a fight with BKFC, McGregor still has two fights remaining on his UFC contract. After those fights are done, though, Feldman sees no reason for "The Notorious" not to enter the BKFC ring.
And regarding a potential opponent, Feldman already has some big names in mind.
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"It makes no sense for him not to fight [in BKFC]. Financially, it makes no sense for him," Feldman said.
"We talked to Nate [Diaz] a few times. He just literally said, 'Look, I have too much scar tissue for this right now.' But I think if it was Conor McGregor that was on the other side of that ring, he would take it. I would love that. I would also love to see Conor McGregor vs. [Jorge] Masvidal in bare-knuckle. Who wouldn't want to see that?"
For now, Feldman remains wildly ambitious with the brand. He said he's currently in the process of landing a deal with an unspecified entity for a majority ownership purchase of BKFC at a $350 million valuation. Feldman also revealed BKFC's next project: "BKFC Fight Club," a series of smaller-scale events that will serve as his proving grounds for up-and-coming bare-knuckle boxers.
Feldman said Fight Club shows will be more intimate, taking place in a "warehouse" with only 200 to 300 attendees. Every competitor must weigh the same and have similar experience levels, as approved by the state commission in which the events are held. From there, the fighters will determine their opponents through a random draw on fight night.
"It's not like I'm putting someone with 30 fights in with someone with two fights. They're all going to be less than, let's say, 10 fights or eight fights, two fights to 10 fights. Something like that," he said.
Feldman said he plans to host at least one "Fight Club" style event per month. As of this writing, there is no official launch event set.
Category: General Sports
