New age of combat sports: bare knuckle, team fighting & more

Throughout recent years, Swanson Communications has been at the forefront of several exciting new ventures in combat sports that have sought to deliver first-of-their-kind formats and rule sets to the growing landscape. In 2018, the agency was tasked with helping to launch Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, which brought the first commission-sanctioned bare knuckle bouts to the U.S. since 1889. Using their expertise in the combat sports arena, Swanson Communications helped publicize BKFC across the combat sports press and deliver mainstream hits, with the bare knuckle agency continuing to run strong to this day with over 80 events and counting.

Swanson Communications was also at the helm for another first-of-its-kind fighting outlet, as they were tapped by Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMAagency to publicize gloveless MMA contests throughout 2023 and 2024. Dubbed “The Most Violent Show on Earth”, Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA has carved out their place in the combat sports landscape as the only ungloved MMA promotion out there and continued to grow this year with its first two world championship fights. The crown jewel event of their run featured MMA great Junior Dos Santos winning the first-ever Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweight Championship in an event that was closely covered by the combat sports press.

In the squared circle, Swanson Communications was on board for another disruptor in the space as Team Combat League tapped the agency to lead the PR efforts for its second season of team-based, city vs. city action. The agency worked tirelessly to bring TCL action to the forefront of boxing media and fans attention, regularly publicizing their events and helping to install them as a staple of the boxing calendar. Beyond the combat press, Swanson Communications was able to place TCL stories in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Los Angeles Times.

Throughout these cases, and into the future as they continue on their perch as the preeminent combat sports PR agency, Swanson Communications has worked to help integrate new combat sports ventures into the large and diverse landscape. With decades of experience in seeing the ebbs and flows of the industry, Swanson Communications has been able to strategically develop inroads to take these companies from upstarts to stalwarts.