It’s safe to say that professional boxer and MMA fighter Keith “KO Kid” Berry knows something about perseverance. Born and raised in California, he grew up competing in wrestling and was introduced to MMA fighting soon after.
Berry fought for the Californian MMA organization Gladiator Challenge, setting two records for the fastest knockout in organization history (one at 5 seconds, the other at 6).
This early success would springboard Berry into an impressive MMA career, but after nearly 40 fights, Berry was already on the search for another adventure.
It wouldn’t take long for cryptocurrency to get his full attention, first dabbling, then going all in, collecting over 1,600 NFTs from mostly smaller artists looking to gain a foothold in the industry and growing his Twitter following to nearly 160,000 followers.
Now, Berry leans on the lessons his MMA career taught him to make waves in the crypto space and use his influence (in both MMA and crypto) to give back to communities and NFT artists in need.
MMA Debut & Record-Setting Fights
Berry’s professional MMA debut came in 2005, fighting for King of the Cage (KOTC) and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), two promotions both based in California. WEC gave him two fights, one against Donny Rider and another against Terry Martin. He would win the former but lose the latter.
Berry’s run for KOTC would prove to be far more victorious: The promotion gave him five fights, all of which he won. He would then secure KOTC’s middleweight title but lose the light heavyweight title to Tony Lopez after a somewhat-controversial TKO.
After his bouts for KOTC and WEC, Berry would fight four times for Gladiator Challenge, winning all four and setting two records for the fastest knockout in organization history.
His success in Gladiator Challenge would grant him the nickname “KO Kid” and get him noticed and signed by Strikeforce, a San Jose-based MMA organization whose fights often garnered national and international television coverage.
Fighting for Strikeforce & Bellator
Berry’s time with Strikeforce would prove more difficult: The organization gave him four fights, three of which he would lose. In another, he would be removed from contention for undisclosed reasons.
He finished his time with Strikeforce and won two fights in the Xplode Fight Series. Soon after, he would sign with Bellator, another California-based MMA organization.
Berry would win two out of his five fights for Bellator, finishing his time with the organization in 2014. His most recent MMA fights were in 2019, and his professional record currently stands at 17 wins and 15 losses.
Artist Collaborations & Philanthropy
Alongside his fighting, Berry has starred in music videos for Machine Gun Kelly and has analyzed and narrated other MMA fights in California.
He also started and currently operates a charity sponsoring kids 12 and under for martial arts competitions.
Finding Another Niche in Cryptocurrency & NFTs
Towards the tail-end of his MMA career, Berry couldn’t help but notice the hype around cryptocurrency and NFTs.
He became enamored with the digital assets, collecting NFTs from smaller artists seeking exposure on both the Solana and Ethereum blockchains and getting involved with web3, an extension of cryptocurrency that introduces verifiable digital asset ownership to the internet.
His actions in the crypto space started to gain traction, giving him the new nickname “The NFT Kid” and growing his Twitter following from just 3,500 all the way to nearly 160,000 in December of 2022.
Today, Berry seeks to share his passion for crypto with his local community. “I put a billboard in my hometown with the title “‘NFTs are the future,’” he said. “I use my audience to support the NFT community every day.”
“The NFT Kid” and the Future of Crypto
You could say that Berry’s journey to seek out smaller artists in the NFT space and purchase their work is certainly charitable on its own: Both the cryptocurrency and NFT markets have experienced extreme volatility this year, with popular coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum losing over 50% of their year-over-year value in 2022.
News of emerging NFT scams and intellectual property theft lawsuits have halted most of the growth the NFT space saw in 2021 and early 2022, and the fallout from the recent FTX bankruptcy has only continued to widen eyes and raise eyebrows around digital assets.
Nonetheless, Berry perseveres. “One of my biggest dreams and aspirations is to be the biggest NFT and blockchain influencer on social media, helping to onboard and support artists while widening my charitable sponsorships.”
And support artists he has: He’s claimed to have collected over 1,600 NFTs from smaller artists looking for exposure in the industry. On Twitter, he’s consistently searching for small, new artists who need their first sale. “I continue to look for ways to give back and help onboard new people into web3,” he says.
Market volatility and industry-wide panic don’t seem to phase the MMA star, either: Over 15 years of professional fighting have taught him “never to give up,” and he applies this mindset to his crypto ventures on a daily basis.
His dreams of becoming an MMA star came true. Who’s to say that his NFT influencer dream won’t?
You can follow Keith Berry on Twitter @kokid951 and on Instagram @kokid951.