A former UFC executive from the nascent days of the company's building process now finds himself in a similar role with a surging bare-knuckle boxing promotion. Loren Mack is now the Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Strategy for BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, as announced in a press release leading into their stacked BKB 56 card in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 18th.
Mack also has experience in this lane with ONE Championship during the years when the powerhouse Asian combat sports league had more of a defined focus on promoting mixed martial arts. Loren Mack was most recently the Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications for the Professional Fighters League, and in the wake of PFL San Diego and the looming summer series for PFL, now finds himself with a promotion that is vying for hierarchical placement in a surging sport as BKFC continues to serve the same master.
Global brand growth across several proven combat sports properties in a demonstrable way is now within the scope of Mack's deliverables as he aims to further bolster the international profile of BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing during a key transformative period for the sport.
BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing announcement touched on by the promotional CEO as well as by Loren Mack himself
David Tetreault is the Chief Executive Officer of BKB, and when discussing the onboarding of Mack to their brand, Tetreault said [via BKB's press release],
“BKB has achieved extraordinary growth over the past several years, and we're assembling an executive team capable of taking the organization to the next level. Loren brings a rare combination of strategic vision, marketing expertise, commercial leadership, and deep industry relationships developed over more than two decades in sports.â€
“His experience building global brands and driving business growth will be invaluable as we continue expanding our audience, strengthening our partnerships, and continue to bring BKB to millions of fans around the world.â€
Also responding to this BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing news is the man himself, as Mack stated [via BKB's press release,
“I've been fortunate to be part of some incredible organizations throughout my career, but I truly believe this represents the biggest opportunity in combat sports today. BKB has incredible momentum and has established itself as the largest and most-watched bare knuckle boxing organization in the world. I'm excited to help continue to elevate the brand, expand its global footprint, develop new business opportunities, and introduce BKB to millions of new fans around the world.â€
Carlos Prates put Islam Makhachev on blast after the UFC announced his fight with Michael Morales for the interim belt on Jan. 30.
“The Nightmare†was in talks with the promotion to book a UFC 336 clash with the welterweight champion in Toronto, Canada, but will now face Morales after the Russian informed the UFC he wouldn't be ready to fight on that date.
Prates took to social media after UFC's official announcement on Saturday to criticize the champion.
“Islam Makhachev, I've been working toward my dream of becoming a champion for 17 years, and now you've postponed that,†Prates wrote in Portuguese. “I'm the No. 1. I knocked out two former champions, while Morales has only beaten Sean Brady.
“You told the UFC you wouldn't be ready to fight in three months. Brother, you don't drink, you don't smoke, you don't party, and you can't get ready for a fight in three months? Let me show you how it's done. On January 30, I'm going to knock out Michael Morales, and then I'll be back to retire you, you coward!â€
Prates is on a three-fight winning streak in the UFC, all by knockout, and has finished his opponents in all seven octagon victories. Morales, on the other hand, is unbeaten as a professional with 19 straight victories, seven of those under the UFC banner.
Makhachev took a shot at Prates by pointing out the fact he has recently beat Ian Machado Garry, the only man to defeat the Brazilian in the UFC.
“I just beat the guy who chased you around the octagon for five rounds,†Makhachev wrote. “Shut up and go train. You're not on my level. See you soon. #maybeâ€
“As soon as we find out who the real contender is, we'll be right back,†he added in separate tweets. “We have to now who is better who deserve.â€
UFC 336 will take place at the Scotiabank Arena and feature Joshua Van's flyweight title defense against Manel Kape as the headliner.
Petr
Yan believes he has figured out Merab
Dvalishvili ahead of their trilogy bout.
Yan is scheduled to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title against
Dvalishvili at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Their series
is tied 1-1, but Yan expects to replicate his commanding
performance in their rematch.
Petr Yan expects another dominant showing against Merab
Dvalishvili in UFC 333 title trilogy
Dvalishvili overwhelmed Yan with his wrestling to win their first
meeting by unanimous decision in 2023. Yan reversed the result in
their December 2025 title rematch, repeatedly defending takedowns
and landing effective strikes to reclaim the championship by
unanimous decision.
“No Mercy†expects another strong showing in their rubber
match.
“We definitely have enough information downloaded from the time we
spent together in the Octagon,†Yan said in a pre-fight interview.
“But the second victory, obviously, was very dominant. I've figured
him out and I'm gonna do whatever I can to this time bring the same
type of victory and even open new layers which we haven't seen
yet.â€
“These are two greats in this division.”
Champion Petr Yan
(@PetrYanUFC) is fully confident heading into this third bout
against Merab
Dvalishvili and believes he still has more to show.
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Alexander
Volkanovski is confident he'll become the first fighter to
defeat Movsar
Evloev.
Volkanovski (28-4) will defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title against
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The champion
believes he presents a “nightmare†stylistic matchup for the
unbeaten Russian.
Alexander Volkanovski explains why Movsar Evloev’s grappling
may fail him in UFC 333 title fight
Ahead of their title clash, Volkanovski explained that Evloev
relies on his wrestling to escape difficult situations. The
Australian champion believes his own grappling skills will deny the
challenger that fallback option.
“I think it just doesn't end well for him,†Volkanovski said in a
pre-fight interview. “I don't mean it in any bad way. I just think
I'm the guy to take that zero from him. He's got incredible skill.
He is very effective with what he does… Every time he's had
problems, he could rely on that wrestling and grappling to get him
out of trouble. And you’ve got to respect that skill. But that
doesn't work with me. That's not a get out of jail free card with
me. When you're panicking, when you're freaking out, you don't get
to just grab hold of me and hang on to a leg or anything like that…
I just think that I'm a bit of a nightmare matchup for him.â€
Volkanovski has demonstrated his defensive wrestling in previous
appearances, including his competitive first bout against Islam
Makhachev, who tops the UFC's men's pound-for-pound rankings.
He has never been submitted in 32 professional fights.
“I am a nightmare matchup for him.” Champ
Alexander
Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) details why he’ll be the first
one to defeat Movsar
Evloev and what it will mean for his legacy. @VisitAbuDhabi |
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