BKFC president David Feldman can’t say whether or not we’ll ever see Conor McGregor toe the line inside the squared circle, but he certainly hopes so.
During the promotion’s fourth-annual KnuckleMania event in California, McGregor revealed in a pre-recorded video clip that he had become a part owner in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. It was an unexpected bit of news and had pundits immediately wondering if we would ever see the Irishman knuckle up for the fast-rising fight company.
“I tell you what he says all the time. He loves the UFC. He loves Dana White. He loves the company. He loves fighting for them, and he loves what we do, too,” Feldman said of McGregor during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “He’s got two more fights in the contract. We’ll see what happens there. I mean, he loves the UFC, so I don’t know. I can’t tell you that. If I was sitting there and said, ‘Nah, we don’t want him to fight for us’, come on, what kind of liar would I be? Of course, we want him to fight for us.”
“But, I’m not getting in the middle of what their agreement and their deal is right now. If that opportunity does arise, a hundred percent. I think he would like it, but, you know, I’ll let him speak for himself. I mean, he says he loves the sport. He said it publicly. ‘I have to try this. I have to do this. I have to do this.’ Look, business is business. He has a great business relationship with the UFC. They’re just getting bigger and bigger. So, who knows?
David Feldman talks Conor McGregor. Says Conor has substantial equity in BKFC.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/hP4qwuKctk
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 13, 2024
As for who David Feldman would like to see McGregor fight under the BKFC banner, there’s one particular name who unsurprisingly stands out from the rest of the pack.
“Conor McGregor really versus anybody, but Conor McGregor versus Mike Perry? I think the whole entire world would wanna see that in bare knuckle,” Feldman said. “That would be huge.”
David Feldman Is Meeting with Two ‘UFC Legends’ in the Coming Week
There’s no telling when, or even if Conor McGregor will compete under the BKFC banner, but that won’t stop the promotion from utilizing his name recognition — especially when it comes to bolstering its roster and finding some more big names for its top star to throw hands with.
“I’m making a move next week and going down and visiting two big-name fighters for him that I think are really, really gonna blow this thing up,” Feldman said of Perry’s next fight. “I think we’re really close to getting this done. The thing is, look, I can put him in with the championship, and I want to.
“If he wants to, I’m gonna do that because I think we owe it to our champion and Mike Perry to do it. But at the end of the day— I have to give him something that people care about, right? That people are really invested in to really watch this thing now because he is kind of a superstar in combat sports now.
“I have to give him something that people are gonna talk about. I have two or three names that people are certainly gonna talk about. I can tell you they’re legends in the UFC. Legends. They’re free [from UFC contract].”
