Hard Knocks Fighting is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA) promotion in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Hard Knocks Fighting was founded in 2009 by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Olympic wrestler Ari Taub. Hard Knocks Fighting is known for its local fighter support and ongoing charity efforts and where Ronda Rousey secured her second career MMA victory.

History

Founding

In 2009, Canadian Olympic wrestler Ari Taub founded Hard Knocks Fighting. Ari Taub an Olympic wrestler and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

based lawyer overcomes local city bylaws to win legal challenges to get

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

sanctioned in

. In December 2011, media giant

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

began airing Hard Knocks Fighting in 40 countries and over 50 million homes. Hard Knocks Fighting produces 15 live events annually, as well as shoulder programming including feature fights, highlight shows, and documentaries.

Television Broadcasting

* December, 2011 - Hard Knocks Fighting begins broadcasting on

. * June, 2013 - Hard Knocks Fighting begins broadcasting on

Popcornflix Popcornflix LLC is a website and Over-the-top content, over-the-top (OTT) service offering free ad-supported streaming media, streaming video of feature-length movies and webisodes and owned by the Screen Media, Screen Media Ventures subsidiary o ...

. * January, 2015 - Hard Knocks Fighting and MoboVivo launch HKFC MMA App * January, 2015 - Hard Knocks Fighting begins live broadcasts on

Fight Network Fight Network is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment. The network broadcasts programming related to combat sports, including mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, and professional wre ...

. *

Past events

Broadcast partners

- Hard Knocks Fighting airs live on

. *

* OSN *

Claro Sports Claro or CLARO may refer to: Companies * Claro (company) or Claro Americanas, a mobile and fixed voice and data communications company **Claro Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay **Claro Brasil **Claro Colombia ** Claro El Salvador ** Claro Guatemala ...

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast Comcast Sports Southeast and Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) was an American regional sports network for the Southern United States that was operated as a joint venture between cable television providers Comcast and Charter Communications. In contr ...

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas i ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...

BandSports BandSports is a Brazilian cable television network that has its programming based on all sports, launched in 2002 by Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação. Sports Programming Athletics * Diamond League * European Athletics Championship Baske ...

* beIN Sports *

FightBox ''FightBox'' is a game show that aired on BBC Three from 13 October to 10 November 2003 and is hosted by Lisa Snowdon and Trevor Nelson with Paul Dickenson as commentator. Format Contestants design their fighters and submit them to the BBC. Out ...

Current champions

Notable fighters

* Ronda Rousey the first

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Women's Bantamweight Champion and first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in Beijing in 2008, where she faced kickboxing champion

Charmaine Tweet Charmaine Tweet is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. She is currently signed with Invicta FC. Kickboxing career Tweet began training with kickboxer Duke Roufus in 2001 and stayed with his team until 2005 ...

in an MMA bout at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship: School of Hard Knocks 12 on June 17, 2011 in

Calgary, Alberta, Canada Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. She submitted Tweet with an armbar in 49 seconds. *

Elias Theodorou Elias Michael TheodorouMixed Martial Arts Show ...

is the winner of HKFC: School of Hard Knocks 14. Method- Submission (rear naked choke). * Misha Cirkunov is an MMA fighter out of Ontario, Canada. Misha Cirkunov knocked out Rodney Wallace at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship.

References

External links

* * {{MMA organizations Sports organizations established in 2009 Mixed martial arts organizations Mixed martial arts television shows