Bryce Hall - From Social Media Influencer To Bare Knuckle Boxer in BKFC

Bryce Hall (@brycehall) is a social media influencer with more than 35 million followers. He is making his BKFC debut on August 11 in BKFC against Gee Perez in Albuquerque, NM. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about what made him want to do a bare knuckle fight, his future plans with BKFC, his boxing loss against fellow influencer Austin McBroom in 2021 and the viral moment that came out of his post-fight interview, his training with BKFC Champion Lorenzo Hunt, what his future goals are, why he doesn't feel the need to prove his haters wrong and much more!

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How are you feeling about making your BKFC debut?

“I’m just ready to fight already. I mean, we’re a week and a half away. I’m at the point in my camp where it’s like now we’re on the decline of the intensity. I’m just ready to get in there and do my thing.”

So walk me through how this comes together because this isn’t like an influencer boxing match. This is the BKFC, this is the real deal.

“BKFC is blowing up rapidly and I see it continuing to blow up rapidly. Me being a social media influencer, I clasp onto viral moments. I thought every influencer boxer, the influencer boxer seems kind of dying and oversaturated now. The only people that really like bringing eyes to the sport are Jake Paul, KSI and Logan Paul. I thought what better way to just kind of like one-up them and stick like the middle finger to their face than to do Bare Knuckle because no other influencers are ever going to do it? They’ll say that they want to but they’re never going to do it. I’m going to be the only one to do it. So it’s like I just one-upped all you people that are veterans in the YouTube space.”

So is this like a one-time deal or are you planning to have more matches after this?

“I want to work with the BKFC long-term. That’s ideally the goal because I see this sport expanding extremely far. It’s like a very, very interesting combat sport. So if I win, I might do another fight, but regardless of what happens on August 11, I want to continue to work with BKFC.”

So you’re known for creating these viral moments. I mean, you just mentioned that there. What do you have planned for this? Like I’m thinking from the walkout to the time you get in there to, you know, the end of the fight.

“So I have my three-step plan. I already have, the thing that I’m walking out to is gonna go viral, can’t say that yet. What I do in that ring is gonna go viral, and then my after-speech is gonna go viral. The things that I’m gonna say in my after speech, when I knock out, you know, a bare-knuckle fighter, that’s gonna go viral. And then the song that I walk out to, everyone’s just gonna go WTF?!”

You know that speech after the Austin McBroom fight went viral?

“That’s exactly what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna do something referencing that.”

Was that intentional? What you did in that interview?

“The I’m not a boxer, I’m trained to be a fighter. I didn’t think it was gonna go as viral. But I was kind of just joking around.”

Because you’re like, I’ve never said that I’m a fighter. And then it cuts right to like, you being like, I’m a fighter, he’s not.

“Yeah, no, I did mean when I said like, Yeah, this is not my profession. But yeah, there was like a tonne of people in the audience and millions of people were watching. Like, I just got punched in the face a bunch. I didn’t know how to take a public L like that. So I mean, it was like a lot of pressure on me, but I didn’t expect that to go as viral as it did.”

You always hear athletes talk about how they learned so much more from a loss than they do from a win. So what did you learn from that loss in the McBroom fight?

So I’ve never taken such a public L like that for millions of people. But it did teach me how to take an L, how to take something on the chin and just move forward and not let it consume my life. This time going into another fight. A lot of people are talking sh*t. But there’s no pressure on me this time. That was my first fight, I was the favorite of the fight. Austin McBroom was the underdog. This time, I’m the underdog. And I’m going into a fight with a bare-knuckle fighter that has to prove himself. Like, you know what, this is why bare knuckle is so brutal. I’m gonna go in there and I’m not going to rush anything. I’m gonna let him come to me and I’m just gonna do my thing.”

It kind of sounds like you’re saying like, he has everything to lose here. You have everything to gain.

“Yeah, there’s not a single thing that I have to prove in there. I have to go in there, my only job is to go in there.”

And then whatever happens happens?

“Yeah. But he knows that I’m gonna go in there. I’m gonna make weight, and then two days after, because you have two days, not one day, you have two days after your weigh-in to eat, chill, recover. I’m gonna be like 185 pounds, in that ring. I walk around it like 195-200 I’m going to be feeling great. I’m going to be bigger. And I can just sit back and take punches. Let him come to me and he will not be on the inside, he hasn’t even been hit by somebody as heavy as me.”

Bryce, what’s the one food that you just can’t wait to eat after? 

“Cheeseburger, Big Mac?. I want, I literally said to all my friends I was like, Dude, I want four Big Macs right? As soon as I win that fight I want them in my after-speech as I’m like, talking and just eating a burger. I’ve not had food in so long I want food. So it’s all good.”

You’re obviously aware of the reaction that this announcement got online like everybody is counting you out here. What was your response when you saw that?

“Um, I honestly don’t blame them whatsoever to count me out. But it’s like, look at the people Gee Perez has fought, you know. Did anyone think that Gee Perez was gonna lose any of the guys that he’s fought? Those guys look like that? Absolutely no fighting experience. I am 100%, regardless of what you say, I’m 100% Gee Perez’ hardest opponent that he’s ever fought in Bare Knuckle. I have more experience than any of those guys that just thought I can hit way harder. I’m taller, I’m stronger. And I’m way faster than all opponents like he’s not gonna go in there and bully me. Like I’m not like a small guy from a gas station you just randomly hired to do like a random Bare Knuckle fight. I have fight experience, and I know how to use my punches.”

You feel like when he came up and kind of pie-faced you, people are calling it a slap and it didn’t really look like a slap. Do you feel like you should have reacted differently to that?

“Again, like what do I have to prove the guy slapped me in the face? It’s like he’s doing some promo for the fight. Did I think it was disrespectful? Yeah. But it’s like, what am I going to do? Just be like, Oh, I want to punch you in the face right now. I’m gonna do that on August 11.”

I feel like what the way in the staredown, I feel like you’ve got something planned for this.

“I may or may not have something planned for that.”

I saw these videos of you training with Lorenzo Hunt, The Juggernaut, who is an absolute beast. What has he taught you about Bare Knuckle that maybe you didn’t know?

“So my background is in wrestling. He taught me a lot of the grappling aspects. Or I would say Bare Knuckle was like a form of like dirty boxing. So like when you wrap up with somebody you’re not allowed to like, hit until the ref separates you. In Bare Knuckle you can grab them by the neck, give them an uppercut, grab them by the neck and give them a hook. Like you can get hit in clutches for a very long time and bare-knuckle. So we’ve been working on a lot of the inside fighting, a lot of the dirty boxing, like holding his arm, popping him across the jaw. You know, I feel most comfortable doing the grappling aspect. So I think Gee doesn’t understand that. I’m not gonna go to him, I’m gonna wait for him to come to me and then I’m gonna wrap up and hurt him.”

How are your knuckles feeling right now?

“They’re pretty messed up right now. They’re pretty messed up right now. But I’m just recovering them now.”

This whole situation that we’re in right now, this whole era right now of influencers who are boxing or you stepping into the world to BKFC? How much of this do you think you owe to Jake and Logan Paul?

“I think owing it to them is like a crazy word. I think thanking them for bringing so many people to the sport. I would say thank you for forgiving creators, smaller creators the opportunity to just show out and do a sport that they’re not comfortable with, or a sport that they’re not, that they didn’t grow up doing for money. You know, I think it’s great for the sport. I think influencers, celebrities, all that’s great for any sport that you do.”

So who’s next? Is it KSI? I’ve heard you mentioned KSI and other interviews is that who you have your eye on if you get the W here

“I don’t think KSI wants to fight me, especially once he sees what I do like August 11. I think he’s gonna make up an excuse and say like, Oh, he lost to Austin McBroom well and I think right after this I want to fly to Austin McBroom again. I want to like actually show people what I’m capable of. And Austin McBroom, whether he wants to do a bare-knuckle or with pillows on his hands. I know for a fact if we had that rematch, I would put them on the canvas.”

I’m sure you’re aware that for a big portion of the population influencers like a dirty word, and they’re like, oh, wow, Bryce Hall is an influencer. I already don’t like him. I don’t know anything about him. But he’s an influencer. I don’t like him. Do you feel like you have to prove those people wrong?

“So this is my thing. Like I really couldn’t care less what the general public thinks about me. If you like me, you like me, and I’m making content for you to escape from your day-to-day life. You know, I don’t care if people hate me. I’m not here to please everybody. And if you like me, thanks. I appreciate that, you’re the ones that got me here. But also my haters got me here.”

I’m a big pro-wrestling fan and I feel like everything you’re saying in this interview and all the interviews that you do feel like you might make a great pro wrestler one day.

“With WWE?”

Could you ever see yourself having a pro wrestling match?

“I can see myself cameoing in it. But I definitely don’t see myself being a character like Logan Paul. I just think I don’t really like that fake stuff.”

Did you ever see yourself being in the position that you’re in right now? Like five years ago? Did you ever picture at 23 this is where you’d be at doing what you’re doing?

“I definitely did not see myself ever doing a bare-knuckle boxing match.”

But what about everything else, just you know, the growth you’ve had on social media, TikTok and YouTube?

“I started social media when I was 14 years old. And I never had a plan B. So I said it was either this or nothing. So I saw myself being successful because I never quit. And I wouldn’t quit no matter what. I didn’t see it. I didn’t fathom how big it was gonna get. But now that I’m here, I’m super grateful. And I continue to expand.”

Do you think there was like, one specific moment, one specific video that actually allowed you to have some of the influence we have now like that really stepped it up to that next level?

“Not a specific one. It was actually like just a bunch of videos that went super viral. People see my face more and then people feeling comfortable with me because they see my face so much.”

Well, this is gonna be really interesting. I’m so excited. I’m a huge BKFC fan. And when I saw that you were gonna be part of this. I was like, Dude, I need to tune in for this. So I can’t wait to see this. And I end every conversation talking about gratitude because it’s such an important part of my life. I wake up every day I say out loud three things I’m grateful for. So, Bryce, what are three things in your life that you’re grateful for right now?

“My mother, my success and the opportunity to fight on BKFC.”

Give us a prediction for August 11th.

“Second-round knockout.”