BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing Returns to its London Home, The indigo at the O2 on Saturday, February 21, 2026

 

Credit: BKB

Press Release: December 6, 2025 By BKB: Bareknuckle Boxing - BKB 51 will be headlined by “The Emperor of Bare Knuckle” Marko Martinjak defending his BKB Bridgerweight Championship against former BKB Heavyweight Champion “Hurricane” Ike Villanueva.

LONDON, ENGLAND – BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing announced today its return to the indigo at the O2 for BKB 51, on Saturday, February 21, 2026.

Said BKB CEO David Tetreault: “BKB is proud to announce its return home to the iconic indigo at the O2. This past year, with our partnership with talkSPORT and our expansion to all corners of the UK, BKB has solidified itself as the top promotion in the country. It's only fitting that we kick off our 2026 European calendar year in London with a return to the indigo where our company has sold out dozens of shows over the past decade.”  

Headlining the card will be the first Bridgerweight title defense of Zagreb, Croatia’s 12-2 Marko Martinjak. This past October in Leeds, UK, the then Cruiserweight Champion Martinjak defeated Dan Podmore to win the Bridgerweight title and become BKB’s second two-division world champion. Shortly thereafter, Martinjak relinquished the Super Cruiserweight belt to concentrate on the Bridgerweight division. 

His opponent Ike VIllanueva (Houston, Texas, USA) is the 5-2 former BKB Heavyweight Champion. Villanueva, a former UFC veteran, was successful in his initial Bridgerweight matchup this past November against former Martinjak trilogy foe Jarome Hatch. 

Said Villanueva: “Kovacs, Fish, Linderman, Olsen, Hatch. I’ve built my BKB resume knocking out big, bald-headed white guys like Marko. I can’t wait to add Emperor to that list.”

Said Martinjak: “Train hard and eat well, Ike. Because on February 21st, hell will be unleashed.”

In the past two years, BKB (originally BYB) has purchased the UK-based BKB, the world’s oldest professional bare knuckle boxing company, and in doing so merged the organizations to create the largest bare knuckle boxing company in the world in terms of roster, library and distribution; ushered in ethical and legalized gambling to the sport; acquired the rights to the historic and prestigious Police Gazette Diamond Belt which now serves as the Bare Knuckle Boxing World Championship; and brought bare knuckle boxing to lineal television on both sides of the Atlantic, including the recent deal with VICE TV and Telemundo Deportes in the US, and in the UK with talkSPORT. 

Tickets for BKB 51 are on sale now at bkbtickets.com/bkb51. Visit bkbbareknuckle.com and follow on social @bkbbareknuckle for tickets, information and all ways to watch. 

Material and Photo Courtesy of: BKB Bareknuckle Boxing Used with permission.

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Combat Sports Media Pioneer Gareth A. Davies Joins BYB Bare Knuckle Broadcast and Media Team

Press Release: October 31, 2024 By BYB Extreme Fighting Series- MIAMI, FLORIDA – BYB Extreme Fighting Series, the modern-day originators of bare knuckle fighting in the United States and largest bare knuckle fighting organization in the world, announced today that veteran boxing journalist and media personality Gareth A. Davies will join the BYB commentating team in an official capacity in 2025. Gareth, who worked with BKB - the pioneering UK-based organization that was acquired by BYB this past May, will serve in various roles with the organization including as an on-air analyst, interviewer, and social and multi-media personality.

 

Gareth joins an all-star trans-Atlantic broadcast team that includes a who’s who in combat sports: play-by- play announcers Mike Goldberg, Tom Ross and Claudia Trejos, color commentators Paulie Malinaggi and Benny Ricardo, ring announcer Kody “Big Mo” Mommaerts, and host and interviewer Danielle “Summer Rae” Moinet.

 

Said BYB CEO Greg Bloom, “Gareth, who brings knowledge, candor, and entertainment to his work, is among the most globally-recognized and most well respected authorities in boxing media. Over the past few years, his embrace and enthusiasm for bare knuckle fighting has quickly established him as a similar figure in our rapidly-growing sport. With BYB’s accelerated global expansion, there has been an immediate need to amplify our voice in the combat landscape, and I couldn’t think of a better individual to help us do so than Gareth.”

 

Said Gareth, “I am thrilled with the opportunity to work with BYB alongside some of the top names in the business, and appreciate the leading executives' faith in me to bring value to the company. I've long worked with boxing and in mixed martial arts, and I may be considered by many as a “boxing guy” at heart, but I quickly recognized that bare knuckle is combat in its purest form, and fans around the world are realizing that its excitement is hard to match.

Fans want action and they want knockouts, and BYB delivers time and time again."

 

"From breaking down technical elements of the sport to telling the amazing stories of BYB’s diverse and international roster of fighters, I can’t wait to get started."

 

BYB’s next show is November 9 when BYB makes its debut in Wolverhampton, England, followed by a return home to South Florida December 6. BYB is broadcast live globally on bkbworld.tv and on Fuse TV, The Fight Network and BeIN Sports in North America, as well as through direct channel partnerships in countries throughout the world. For more information, tickets, and more, follow @bybextreme on all social media platforms and visit bybextreme.com.

 

ABOUT BYB:

Originating in South Florida with backyard legend Dada 5000, whose backyard fights gained worldwide popularity online, BYB was founded to harness the excitement of bare knuckle fighting into a more structured product for a wider, more mainstream audience. Since 2015, BYB has worked diligently to grow the reach of bare knuckle on both a domestic and international level, hosting events in Wyoming, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, England, Wales, and Dubai, and is continuing to work with athletic commissions throughout the United States and globally to expand the fanbase growing sport of bare knuckle fighting. In May 2024, BYB acquired London-based BKB, the world’s first professional bare knuckle boxing promotion, who has successfully promoted forty bare knuckle events which were broadcast in over thirty-five different countries with millions of fans and viewers worldwide.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.