Conor McGregor has been teasing his return to fight sports activities for the higher a part of two years with potential matchups awaiting him within the UFC, or presumably boxing Logan Paul, however maybe essentially the most fascinating wrinkle has been his sudden curiosity in a bare-knuckle battle.
The Irish celebrity turned a component proprietor in BKFC in 2024 and he’s been a mainstay constructing the promotion ever since. He reveals up at occasions, participates in press conferences and barely misses the possibility to tout thrilling fights or jaw-dropping knockouts, however McGregor has additionally repeated advised BKFC founder David Feldman that he plans on competing there in the future.
This previous weekend at BKFC KnuckleMania 5, McGregor went so far as dealing with off with Jeremy Stephens after his win over Eddie Alvarez and as soon as once more reiterated that he desires to take off the gloves and throw down in bare-knuckle.
“I might like to see him do it,” Matt Brown stated about McGregor competing in bare-knuckle on the newest episode of The Fighter vs The Author. “I believe it might be wonderful. Although it’s most likely not going to occur, I might like to see it.
“Him and Jeremy Stephens, I believe there can be plenty of nice hype for that and I believe it might be a superb battle, too. I believe it might be a extremely fascinating battle, particularly in a bare-knuckle fashion.”
The largest roadblock isn’t McGregor’s willingness to compete in bare-knuckle however relatively an unique contract with the UFC that also has two fights remaining on the deal. McGregor lately revealed that the UFC nixed preliminary talks he had for the boxing match in opposition to Paul after teasing that an ultra-wealthy household in India was thinking about footing the invoice for that battle.
That’s why it appears unlikely that the UFC would enable McGregor to compete in bare-knuckle, however Brown says that’s by far essentially the most fascinating alternative accessible to the previous two-division champion at this stage of his profession.
“I believe that’s a no brainer. That’s by far essentially the most thrilling Conor McGregor battle on the market proper now,” Brown argued. “Does that occur? I assume it’s a bit bit unlikely however perhaps the UFC will get behind it. He did the boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. Perhaps [the UFC] will get behind it. I believe Conor would like to do it primarily for the explanation you don’t should get in the identical form, proper? You’ve solely acquired to throw fingers and it’s 5, two-minute rounds. He would love that. The conditioning is totally completely different.
“Stylistically, I don’t suppose he has a horrible fashion for bare-knuckle. It could be fascinating. You don’t actually know till they get in there. Like I might have by no means thought Ben Rothwell had an ideal fashion for bare-knuckle. Jeremy Stephens clearly has an ideal fashion for bare-knuckle, however he was a kind of guys I might be involved he would break his fingers. He throws for the fences each time, and I’m like dude, you’re positively going to interrupt your fingers in bare-knuckle.”
Up to now, Stephens and Ben Rothwell have mixed for an ideal 7-0 document in BKFC with each profitable in the primary and co-main occasions this previous weekend.
Along with a longstanding feud with Stephens that dates again to an notorious interplay at a UFC press convention in 2016, McGregor has additionally proven curiosity in attainable dealing with Mike Perry, who has earned the title of “King of Violence” since first arriving in BKFC.
Perry has turn out to be one of the marketable fighters on the planet largely because of his fights in BKFC the place he’s rattled off 5 straight wins together with finishes over former UFC champions like Alvarez and Luke Rockhold.
As a lot as Brown appreciates McGregor sharing the ring with Stephens in a bare-knuckle battle, he is aware of the buildup round a possible showdown in opposition to Perry is perhaps essentially the most promotable battle in all of fight sports activities.
“F*ck the battle, that’s the perfect f*cking media tour in historical past!” Brown stated about McGregor vs. Perry. “That’s simply the perfect media tour you could possibly ask for! Even when they don’t battle. If they only say they’re going to battle and do a media tour. Who cares in the event that they battle? That’s the best press convention I may presumably think about.”
Brown says it’s actually not all that tough to determine which battle would get followers most excited if the choices had been McGregor dealing with somebody like Michael Chandler within the UFC, a boxing match in opposition to Paul or throwing down in a bare-knuckle brawl with Perry.
“ the reply to that. It’s going to be Mike Perry all day,” Brown stated. “Once more, if we do a media tour with all three of these, which one do you wish to see essentially the most? Logan Paul can be enjoyable, too. It could most likely simply get silly, and we’d be like that was tacky, you made this shit up, you scripted this.
“However him and Mike Perry, they don’t have to script something. They don’t have to give you [anything] loopy. They’re the craziest motherf*ckers on the market already.”
For all of the intrigue that will encompass McGregor truly preventing in BKFC, Brown admits the novelty sits close to the highest of the listing as a result of reality be advised he’s already completed every little thing else.
The curiosity and the potential for violence in a McGregor bare-knuckle battle simply trump the rest accessible to him proper now.
“We’ve seen him battle in MMA,” Brown stated. “We’ve seen it. It’s a narrative that’s been written. We’ve seen the top of his profession in MMA as we all know it. We haven’t seen him in bare-knuckle.”
