BKFC president David Feldman has poured cold water on the possibility of Conor McGregor having his next fight in their famous circular ring.
McGregor told Feldman to match him up with UFC star turned bare-knuckle boxer Jeremy Stephens following his stoppage victory over former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez on Saturday night at BKFC Knucklemania V.
DAZNMcGregor called for a fight with Stephens in bare-knuckle boxing[/caption]
Taking to the ring after the bout, BKFC part owner McGregor squared up to Stephens and said: “Who the f*** is this guy,” in reference to their viral press conference moment in 2016.
“Let’s make a date, let’s set a date. Who’s going to stop me man to man?
“No one is going to stop me. David, make the date and let’s do it.”
The face-off made the rounds on social media and got fans talking.
However, it is incredibly unlikely to happen given that McGregor still has two fights remaining on his UFC deal and would require permission from MMA‘s premier promotion to fight for BKFC.
“I mean, any time you get those kinds of moments it is awesome,” Feldman told the Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday.
“But I can’t do it, obviously, unless the UFC wanted to do something with us.
“And they don’t need us for anything, but maybe they would, right?
“Other than that it doesn’t happen. But it is a great viral moment and gets people talking.
“Now, Conor does need to fight and I think he will fight soon.
“I think he’s getting in shape. He looks better. When I saw him he looks different, he looks like he is really taking it more seriously.
“And I think that you are going to see Conor fighting again this year, probably not in bare-knuckle.”
Asked if it is worth getting in contact with the UFC to see if they would be willing to work with BKFC on a cross-promotional McGregor fight, Feldman responded: “I think we are growing at a really great pace right now.
“Not that they are concerned about us, they are not.
“But if something like that happened that move us up like five or ten more pegs and I don’t think they want to help us grow.
“But who knows? It is worth a shot and maybe we will take that shot in the next week or two…
“Him vs Jeremey Stephens or him vs Mike Perry would be amazing.”
McGregor hasn’t competed in the UFC since breaking his leg during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.
He was supposed to return to the Octagon in June against Michael Chandler. However, he pulled out of the clash with a broken toe and hasn’t been re-booked since.