Two GOATs, Two Bare Knuckle Promotions, One American Market. IBA Just Landed in Miami

Jon Jones' IBA Bare Knuckle promotion just announced its United States debut. July 18 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami. Former UFC fighters on the card. A former WBA boxing champion making his bare knuckle debut. Jones hosting as the official ambassador. Tickets already on sale through Ticketmaster.

The promotion that Jones signed with back in March after the UFC refused to put him on the White House card has gone from hosting events in St. Petersburg to setting up shop in South Florida. Four events in Russia. 500 million digital views. And now they're coming for the American market.

There's just one problem. Conor McGregor already owns part of that market.

BKFC has McGregor as co-owner. Mike Perry as the face. Darren Till just debuted. They're headlining Fenway Park in August. And they've controlled the American bare knuckle space for years without any real competition.

That just changed. Two of the greatest MMA fighters in history are now running competing bare knuckle promotions in the same country. The bare knuckle war just started and it's happening faster than anyone expected.

The Miami Card

IBA Bare Knuckle's US debut isn't a soft launch. They're bringing real names.

The main event features Viacheslav Borshchev against Elvin Brito. Borshchev is "Slava Claus," the former UFC lightweight known for his boxing heavy style who's making his bare knuckle debut. Brito is a former BKFC champion who already knows what fighting without gloves feels like. That's a competitive headliner with crossover appeal from both the MMA and bare knuckle audiences.

The co-feature has Javier Fortuna, a former WBA Super Featherweight boxing champion, also making his bare knuckle debut. A former world champion boxer fighting without gloves for the first time. That name carries weight in the boxing community and gives IBA a mainstream hook that most bare knuckle events don't have.

The undercard includes fighters from the UFC, LFA, and the Contender Series. IBA isn't coming to America with local circuit guys nobody has heard of. They're stacking the debut with recognizable combat sports names because first impressions matter and they know BKFC is watching.

Doors open at 6 PM ET. First fight at 7 PM. Jones will be in the building as host and ambassador. The man who has been attending IBA events in Russia since March, including Yoel Romero's surprise bare knuckle debut, is now bringing the whole operation to his adopted home state.

BKFC vs IBA: The Tale of the Tape

BKFC has had the American bare knuckle market basically to itself for years. McGregor bought in as co-owner in 2023. Perry became the most recognizable bare knuckle fighter on the planet. Till debuted in May and is targeting Perry for the biggest fight in BKFC history. They just booked Fenway Park for August 29. The brand is established. The audience exists. The infrastructure is built.

IBA is the newcomer but they're not small. The promotion was launched under the International Boxing Association, the same organization that used to oversee Olympic boxing before the IOC stripped them of that role in 2023 for governance issues. Say what you want about the IBA's reputation but the organization has global reach, institutional infrastructure, and the kind of international connections that BKFC doesn't have.

Four events in Russia and the CIS region since 2025. Over 500 million digital views and engagements. Yoel Romero headlining events. Jones as the global ambassador. And now a US debut in Miami with former UFC and boxing champions on the card.

BKFC has the American audience. IBA has the international platform. Both have a GOAT attached. McGregor is BKFC's co-owner and business engine. Jones is IBA's ambassador and public face. The two most famous MMA fighters in history are now on opposite sides of a bare knuckle promotional war.

July 18 Is Insane

Here's a detail that somehow makes this whole thing even crazier.

IBA Bare Knuckle's US debut is on July 18. The same night as RAF 11 in Milwaukee where Tsarukyan wrestles Covington in the main event and Ben Askren returns from a double lung transplant to wrestle Belal Muhammad.

Two major combat sports events on the same Saturday night. One in Miami with Jones hosting bare knuckle fights. One in Milwaukee with the #1 lightweight contender and a man who died four times wrestling on his birthday. And neither of them is a UFC event.

July 18 tells you everything about where combat sports is heading in 2026. The biggest names in the sport aren't sitting around waiting for the UFC to book them. They're building their own platforms, running their own events, and creating alternatives that didn't exist two years ago. Jones is hosting bare knuckle in Miami. Tsarukyan is wrestling in Milwaukee. Askren is competing with transplanted lungs. And the UFC isn't involved in any of it.

Why This Competition Matters

Bare knuckle fighting was a novelty three years ago. A curiosity for hardcore combat sports fans who wanted something rawer than boxing and more primal than MMA. BKFC built it into a legitimate market with Perry's star power and McGregor's business acumen.

Now there's real competition in that market and that's actually good for the fighters.

When BKFC was the only option, bare knuckle fighters had one promotion to negotiate with. One set of terms. One pay structure. Take it or leave it. Sound familiar? That's exactly the criticism people have been throwing at the UFC for years. One dominant promotion means one-sided negotiations.

IBA entering the US market gives bare knuckle fighters leverage. The same way MVP gave UFC fighters leverage by proving the money is better outside. The same way Coker's new promotion gives MMA fighters another option. Competition drives pay up. Competition drives treatment up. Competition is what fighters have been begging for across every combat sport in 2026.

Till is at BKFC. Borshchev is at IBA. Romero is at IBA. Former boxing champions are debuting at IBA. The talent pool is splitting because there are now two viable promotions competing for the same fighters. That competition benefits everyone holding a pair of bare knuckles.

Two GOATs, Two Promotions

Step back and look at where Jones and McGregor are right now.

McGregor co-owns BKFC, has two fights left on his UFC deal, and hits free agency after April 2027. He's building a bare knuckle empire on the side while still being the biggest name in MMA.

Jones is ambassadoring IBA, has six fights left on a UFC contract he doesn't want, is being considered for Usyk's farewell boxing match, and just brought a Russian bare knuckle promotion to Miami. He's building his post UFC life in real time while the UFC watches from the sideline.

Both men are still technically UFC fighters. Both men are running competing bare knuckle operations. Both men are positioning themselves for life after the Octagon. And the paths they've chosen are about to collide in the American bare knuckle market.

BKFC at Fenway Park on August 29. IBA in Miami on July 18. Two promotions. Two GOATs. One market. And the fighters stuck in between get to choose who pays them better.

The UFC's monopoly conversation has been loud all year. Turns out the bare knuckle world is having the same conversation right now. Except in bare knuckle, the competition showed up overnight and it brought Jon Jones with it.

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