Harrisburg, PA – KnuckleMania VI, the signature event of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), returns to Philadelphia this Saturday, Feb. 7, following the State Athletic Commission’s (SAC) successful oversight of KnuckleMania V last year.
With bare-knuckle fighting rapidly growing in popularity, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will again play a pivotal role in its growth. The SAC, under the Department of State, will oversee all regulatory aspects of KnuckleMania VI at Xfinity Mobile Arena to ensure safety, fairness, and compliance with state laws and regulations.
“Considering KnuckleMania V exceeded high expectations, it’s an honor for SAC that the BKFC decided to bring its showcase event back to Philadelphia in 2026,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, who attended last year’s event. “It was a boost to the local economy in 2025, and the same is expected this year as bare-knuckle fighting continues to draw larger audiences.”
The main card this year features a heavyweight championship bout between a pair of unbeaten fighters, Ben Rothwell and Andrei Arlovski, as well as a noteworthy cruiserweight fight between Lorenzo Hunt and David Mundell, a middleweight fight between John Garbarino and Kaine Tomlinson Jr., and lightweight fight between Ben Bonner and Tony Soto. On the women’s side, the showcase matchup pits bantamweight fighters Jade Masson-Wong and Crystal Pittman against each other.
Additions and other changes to the card could still be announced.
“The hope and expectation this year is to top 2025’s incredible success, and SAC is doing everything in its power to ensure KnuckleMania VI runs smoothly and safely,” SAC Executive Director Ed Kunkle said. “There are no boring bare-knuckle fights. It’s fighting in its purest form, and once a fight starts, it’s exciting until the moment it ends.”
Kunkle has worked closely with BKFC founder and president Dave Feldman, who said returning KnuckleMania to Philadelphia was an easy and natural choice.
Feldman said even without homegrown star Eddie Alvarez, whose fight highlighted last year’s event, or any other Philadelphia-area superstars on the 2026 card, KnuckleMania VI is still outpacing 2025’s record ticket sales.
“We have a guy [Kunkle] in position [at SAC] who wants to know how to get it done, not if it can get done,” Feldman said. “He’s someone who wants to bring business to Pennsylvania and works hard to make sure it gets done the right way.”
SAC is responsible for licensing and medically clearing participating fighters; licensing corner persons; and assigning licensed referees, inspectors, judges, timekeepers, and doctors for combat sports like bare-knuckle fighting, MMA, professional boxing, and kickboxing/Muay-Tai.
Under the leadership of Kunkle, who began as executive director in late 2023, SAC recently completed another prolific and productive year. In 2025, the commission, which is financially self-sufficient and uses no state taxpayer money, regulated or sanctioned all of the following:
- 3 bare-knuckle fighting events,
- 45 professional boxing events,
- 21 mixed martial arts (MMA) events,
- 8 kickboxing/Muay-Tai events,
- 72 amateur boxing events, and
- 403 professional wrestling matches.
Kunkle noted that more bare-knuckle fighting events are being planned for 2026, including a to-be-announced event in Pittsburgh.
He also said the Team Combat League, which is the nation’s first boxing league with a team-based ownership model, will return in 2026, though it will now be called the Team Boxing League, with the Philadelphia Smoke among the top teams in the league.
Visit the State Athletic Commission website for more information.