With an ownership stake in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, Quebec's Allrem Sports & Entertainment has a vested interest in seeing the promotion flourish in Canada.
The UFC followed a similar path with Marc Ratner, a former executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission who is now the UFC's senior vice-president of regulatory affairs, leading the fight for mixed martial arts to secure official sanctioning from local commissions. "There are only three professional combative sports regulated under the Athletics Control Act by the Office of the Athletics Commissioner — boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts," said the statement, provided to The Canadian Press."Currently, bare-knuckle boxing is illegal in Ontario."
BKFC bouts are contested in a ring with five two-minute rounds. Fighters are permitted to wrap and tape the wrist, thumb and mid-hand, but no gauze or tape can be within 2.5 centimetres of the knuckles. Punches are the only strike allowed. In August, Edmonton welterweight Drew Stuve defeated Sonny Smith, a former member of the United Kingdom Special Forces, by second-round TKO in the main event.Based in the Montreal area, Allrem is also involved in the NASCAR Canada Series, Nissan Sentra Cup, zMax CARS Tour, and has an investment in Les Pétroliers de Laval of the North American Hockey League , a semi-pro circuit known for its pugilistic nature.
"Funnily enough, they want to take a picture not with the car or the driver, they want to take a picture with the hood," said de Pokomandy.