Combat sports promotion BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing has continued its expansion into the UK market, appointing a new managing director for the territory.
Michael Ridout joins as BKB UK managing director after departing combat sports-focused OTT platform DAZN in August.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Ridout had been the executive vice president for combat sports and new business at DAZN since May 2024, based in London, UK.
Prior to that, Ridout spent over 17 years at heavyweight commercial media and sports agency IMG’s media unit, joining as account executive in 2006 before eventually rising to the role of vice president for IMG Media, a role he held from 2018 to 2024.
In the latter position, he took charge of UK broadcast media sales and managing broadcaster relations for properties such as MMA promotion UFC and boxing promoter Frank Warren.
At DAZN, that remit continued, with Ridout further managing promoter relations and pushing the rights into new markets.
It is that experience that Ridout will need to call on in his new position at BKB, where he will lead operations in the UK, while also taking on a wider role across the company, liaising with the executive leadership team to build out BKB’s commercial platform.
Speaking on the appointment, Ridout himself said: “BKB has built an exciting platform in the global combat sports landscape, with significant opportunities to grow its audience, expand its international reach and develop new commercial partnerships.
“I look forward to working closely with the team in the UK and across the wider organization, drawing on my experience in sports media and combat sports to help drive BKB’s continued growth and build on the strong foundations already in place.”
BKB chief executive David Tetrault added: “Michael brings an exceptional combination of experience, industry relationships and commercial expertise to BKB. His work with DAZN and IMG, particularly across sports media, broadcast distribution and global boxing, makes him a tremendous addition to our executive leadership team.
“As we continue to grow our international footprint and strengthen the business, his leadership will be instrumental in helping us capitalize on the opportunities ahead. We are delighted to welcome him to BKB.”
BKB coverage in the UK and Ireland is broadcast on the YouTube channel of major sports radio network TalkSport.
The announcement of Ridout’s hiring comes just before the next BKB event in the UK market, this weekend’s BKB 61 Selby vs Sentence card, to be hosted in the capital city at Indigo at the O2 Arena.
Tetrault spoke to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) back in September on a range of topics, including the new market entry strategy.
“Everything that we do now is intentional and strategic,” he explained. “My thing is: Who's the main event? When I talk to my matchmakers, who's in the main event? Then we place it in the proper locale, and then we begin selling it. I've kind of changed that whole philosophy so that, from a geographic standpoint, we know what we're doing."
For the full, unabridged interview with David Tetrault, listen to the latest edition of the Sportcal Industry Insights podcast.
