MMA SUPERSTAR MIKE PERRY & DBX CEO MALKI KAWA SHARE INSIGHTS INTO FAST-GROWING COMBAT SPORTS PROMOTION AHEAD OF JAM-PACKED FRIDAY NIGHT EVENT
Dirty Boxing Championship (DBX) has made huge gains in the combat sports industry less than two years since their launch, led by co-founder Mike Perry and CEO Malki Kawa, who explained what separates the company from other aspiring promotional outfits ahead of DBX6 action taking place this Friday, April 10 from the James L. Knight Center in Miami and streaming live and for free beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on the Dirty Boxing Championship YouTube Channel.
“The fan reactions, the viewership and the numbers in general have made me really bullish on DBX,” said Kawa. “All of our socials are organic. Nothing is bought. We don’t have any fake followers. For us, the organic growth has been exponential and it’s been better than any other promotion out there other than UFC.
“DBX is fast and you can grab the clips that go viral. That’s why it works so well. It has the recipe to be something that works perfectly for this social media era. We’re putting fighters and fans first. Those two things go hand in hand. That’s our best attribute.”
Sporting over 230,000 Instagram followers and more than 175,000 YouTube subscribers, DBX content has earned more than 46 million social media views and rising. The buzz has led to events being attended by a slew of stars including Shaquille O’Neal, the NELK Boys and a who’s who of combat sports stars, including DBX Ambassador Jon Jones.
“You never know who’s gonna show up to DBX,” said Perry. “Movie stars, NFL players, NBA players, there’s been some big names at the shows. The quality of our product is pristine and I hope that in time we’ll continue to give that product to everyone watching, and it will speak for itself and keep growing.”
With its’ own unique rule set allowing Superman punches, spinning backfists, elbows and standing ground-and-pound, in addition to traditional striking with 4oz gloves, DBX fight cards average a 70% KO/TKO rate. For Kawa, these results are a direct product of the initial conversations that led to DBX’s inception.
“I was asked if I was able to do whatever I wanted with a fight promotion, what would I do?” said Kawa. “We talked about it and thought about MMA, but we didn’t want any of the boring parts. And we thought about boxing, but I feel like we’ve gotten to the point where too many boxers fight not to lose. When we talked about what we don’t like, we started to figure out what we really love and that led us to this rule set.”
Coming from the fighter’s perspective, Perry described what’s made other combat sports lag in excitement and how DBX has been specifically designed to streamline the action to give fans what they’re looking for.
“There’s a strategy in combat sports that’s basically a way to stall and make a guy carry your weight,” said Perry. “It’s a different way to break guys down that stalls the action. At DBX, we penalize you for stalling the action. We pin you to each other, and say go. It’s brutal, phone booth fighting from very experienced and technical athletes.
“DBX has had some awesome highlight reels of really big knockouts. There is a brutality to it where you see people truly wear their heart on their sleeve.”
DBX has so far featured fighters from all across the wide spectrum of fighting disciplines, from boxers, to mixed martial artists, Muay Thai fighters and more. As they continue to grow, Kawa and Perry both expressed their hope that more and more fighters would see why DBX could be the place for them.
“If you’re in a combat sport and you feel like you want something more exciting and more fast-paced, you’re the guy we’re looking for,” said Kawa. “If you’re a pro boxer and you’re looking at having to go to Mexico to get fights, I’d love for you to come to Dirty Boxing and try it. Don’t be afraid of the elbows and the smaller gloves. A boxer in this ruleset still has the best chance to win.”
“Being a top dog myself, and meeting these young athletes who want to come and put on a show for everyone, that’s been so cool to me as a martial artist,” said Perry. “We want to give back and give them a platform to showcase their fighting style.”
One potential marquee event in DBX’s future would be Perry making his Dirty Boxing debut, combining the “King of Violence” with a rule set tailor-made for his style. When asked about stepping into the DBX arena himself, Perry mentioned U.K. superstar Darren Till as a potential opponent that could bring that opportunity into reality.
“It’s a dream at the moment to face someone in the Dirty Boxing rules,” said Perry. “There’s talks about me versus Darren Till possibly being an option. It’s not like I could just fight anyone. Someone like him is one of the best options.”
When looking into the future of DBX as a whole, Kawa believes the company’s success is just in its early stages, and believes that even more eyeballs and exposure are around the corner for the burgeoning company.
“I see DBX being on a major platform one day being streamed to millions of fans across the world,” said Kawa. “We want to be all around the world, but still keep our same vibe, so that the fans can be right on top of the action and have a good time. If everything goes the way I think it should go, we can be a household name. We know that Saturday is for UFC and Sunday is for NFL, but the rest of the week you could see DBX on your screens.”
For ticket information and event details, visit https://dirtyboxingchampionship.com/.
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