Conor McGregor demands bare-knuckle boxing match with Jeremy Stephens

The Irishman, who owns a stake in BKFC, is struggling to get a fight in the UFC cage or the boxing ring

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 bout on two weeks’ notice. Chandler, who had been waiting on McGregor since February 2023, ultimately took a different fight and lost to Charles Oliveira in November.

Most recently, McGregor was angling for 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 collapsed.

On Saturday, however, McGregor entered the ring at a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event, facing off with Jeremy Stephens, who had just stopped Eddie Alvarez.

Stephens and Alvarez are both former UFC fighters, with McGregor having knocked out the latter to win the lightweight belt in 2016, while he famously dismissed a callout from Stephens by shouting: “Who the f*** is that guy?”

After Stephens’s victory on Saturday, McGregor – who owns a stake in BKFC – faced off with the American and said: “Yeah, yeah, who the f*** is this guy, baby?

Conor McGregor owns a stake in BKFC (Getty Images)

“Let’s make a date, let’s set a date. Who’s gonna stop me, man to man? No one’s gonna stop me.

“David [Feldman, BKFC president], make the date and let’s do it. I’m down for it, bro, yeah? I’m down for it.”

This month, it was reported that a woman is suing McGregor after accusing him of sexual assault in 2023. The woman was previously unsuccessful in getting criminal charges filed, and is also suing employees at the basketball arena where she alleges the attack took place during a Miami Heat game.

In November, a civil-court jury in Ireland awarded €250,000 to a different woman, who said she was “brutally raped and battered” by McGregor in 2018. Earlier this month, BKFC president Feldman explained his company’s loyalty to McGregor amid the case.

“Whatever may have happened, and whatever the accusation was, I’m not getting involved with that,” he said. “What I’m getting involved in is: a guy that was with us – our partner, our friend – was kicked when he was down, and we’re not gonna kick him when he’s down. We’re gonna help lift him back up, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

McGregor at a BKFC press conference after buying a stake in the promotion (AFP via Getty Images)

“I believe that if you’re with somebody, you’re with them 100 times. My dad has a saying, ‘You can’t be 99 per cent loyal; you’re either 100 per cent or get out of here.’ You can’t be with someone 99 times, and the 100th time – when it goes wrong – you turn your back on them. You’re with them all the time. So if we’re with him, we’re taking a ride with him, and we’re going all the way with him.

“Some sponsors pushed back a little bit, but when I explained it to them the way I’m explaining it to you now, they kind of held on to it and they understood what I was saying.”