COMBAT SPORTS
No, bare-knuckle fighting is not banned in New Mexico
But without promoters waiting in the wings, the sport's future remains uncertain
No news was good news for bare-knuckle fight fans, in that bare-knuckle was not mentioned once during the August New Mexico Athletic Commission meeting on Wednesday.
When and whether a bare-knuckle card again is staged in our state, however, remains an open question 鈥� not because of a ban on bare-knuckle, but because there are no promoters waiting in line.
Bare-knuckle fighting remains a sanctioned form of combat sports in our state, NMAC chairman Ed Manzanares said in a phone interview after the meeting, which the Journal attended remotely.
鈥淣othing鈥檚 changed (regarding bare-knuckle),鈥� Manzanares said.
A drastic change appeared to be on its way a month ago.
Before the commission鈥檚 July meeting, which included a rules hearing, the rules section governing bare-knuckle fighting (15.6.19) appeared in strike-through. Out of concerns that the NMAC was moving to ban bare-knuckle, combat-sports referees, matchmakers, journalists and enthusiasts spoke before the commission in favor of the sport 鈥� expressing the opinion, in some cases supported by research, that bare-knuckle was no more dangerous and perhaps less so than boxing or MMA,
The commission moved at the July meeting to table discussion of 15.6.19, as it did with rule 15.6.14, which involves the NMAC鈥檚 fee schedule. Attendees at the July meeting expressed concerns about proposed fee increases, in particular for fighters.
At Wednesday鈥檚 meeting, the commission moved to revise 15.6.14.
Rule 15.6.19, governing bare-knuckle, did not appear on the agenda.
Manzanares noted on Wednesday that all talk of bare-knuckle at the July meeting came from attendees during the time allotted for public comment 鈥� and not from the commissioners.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 discuss it in the last meeting, and it wasn鈥檛 on the agenda (for Wednesday),鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e not discussing it.鈥�
Asked if a bare-knuckle promoter could submit an event for NMAC approval in New Mexico, Manzanares said, 鈥淵eah, nothing鈥檚 changed with the rules.鈥�
BUT WILL THEY COME?: There hasn鈥檛 been a sanctioned professional bare-knuckle event in New Mexico since June 6, 2025. None are scheduled.
BKFC, the sport鈥檚 acknowledged leader, promoted seven times in the state between 2022-25, twice setting attendance records for the promotion. But those records long since have been surpassed elsewhere.
Another leading bare-knuckle promotion, BKB (formerly BYB) staged a card at Revel ABQ in January 2025. The promotion expressed a desire to come back but said it would not do so unless the Athletic Commission amended its rules to permit a sixth round for title fights.
That has not happened.
THE FEES: At the July meeting, several attendees objected to a proposed annual licensing fee of $75 鈥� up from $25 鈥� for fighters, referees, judges timekeepers, et al. For many fighters, some said, $75 was too steep.
At Wednesday鈥檚 meeting, the commission adopted a far more modest increase 鈥� from $25 to $35.
The NMAC also adopted pay increases for referees, judges, timekeepers, deputy inspectors, ring physicians and event coordinators. Promoters are responsible for those payments.
Those increases, the commission decided, will not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2027.
