Conor McGregor has turned his attention to a bare-knuckle boxing match, having struggled to secure a fight in the UFC or traditional boxing ring.
McGregor, a former two-weight UFC champion, has not fought in the mixed martial arts promotion since July 2021 – when he broke his leg in a second straight loss to Dustin Poirier.
The Irishman, 36, was due to face Michael Chandler in June 2024, but a broken toe ruled McGregor out of the fight on two weeks’ notice. Chandler, who had been waiting for McGregor since February 2023, finally took a different fight and lost to Charles Oliveira in November.
Most recently, McGregor staged an exhibition boxing match in India, against YouTuber Logan Paul, but UFC president Dana White shot down the idea. In a filmed conversation with Paul last week, McGregor seemed to admit the fight had fallen apart.
On Saturday, however, McGregor entered the ring at a Knockdown Fighting Championship (BKFC) event, facing Jeremy Stephens, who had just stopped Eddie Alvarez.
Stephens and Alvarez are both former UFC fighters, with McGregor knocking out the latter to win the lightweight belt in 2016, when he rejected a call from Stephens by shouting: “Who is this guy?”
After Stephens’ victory on Saturday, McGregor – who owns a stake in BKFC – confronted the American and said: ‘Yeah, yeah, who is this guy, baby?
“Let’s make a date, let’s set a date. Who’s going to stop me, man man? Nobody’s going to stop me.
“David [Feldman, BKFC president]make the date and let’s do it. I’m for that, bro, yeah? I’m for that.
This month, it was reported that a woman is suing McGregor after he accused him of sexually assaulting him in 2023. The woman has failed to file criminal charges and is also suing employees at the basketball arena -ball where she alleges the attack took place during a Miami Heat Game.
In November, a civil court jury in Ireland awarded €250,000 to another woman, who said she was “raped and beaten” by McGregor in 2018. Earlier this month, BKFC president , Feldman, explained his company’s loyalty to McGregor amid the affair.
“Whatever it is, and whatever the accusation, I’m not getting involved,” he said. “What I’m getting involved with is: A guy who was with us – our partner, our friend – got kicked when he was down, and we’re not going to kick him when he’s down. breakdown. We’re going to help bring it back together, and that’s what we’re trying to do.
“I believe if you’re with someone, you’re with them 100 times. My father has a saying: “You can’t be 99% faithful; You’re either 100% or get out of here. You can’t be with someone 99 times, and the 100th time – when things go wrong – you turn your back on them. You are with them all the time. So if we’re with him, we take a ride with him and we go all the way with him.
“Some sponsors pushed back a little bit, but when I explained it to them the way I explain it to you now, they kind of held it and they understood what I was saying.”