Conor McGregor’s BKFC loses top undefeated star to Dana White’s UFC in a massive twist

Conor McGregor's top BKFC superstar Jeremy Stephens moves back to Dana White's UFC after the viral KnuckleMania event.

Conor McGregor’s BKFC loses top undefeated star to Dana White’s UFC in a massive twist

Conor McGregor loses BKFC star to UFC (via Imago/X)

Last year, Conor McGregor shocked everyone by becoming a co-owner of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Since then, the Irish fighter has been consistently involved in its promotion and projected it as a competition for Dana White‘s UFC. However, recent developments indicate that BKFC has suffered a significant setback.

This year in January, BKFC held its KnuckleMania 5 event in Pennsylvania and hosted over 17,000 fans. In the main event bout, UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens beat Eddie Alvarez via TKO. It turned out to be a massive hit, making Stephens a knockout star overnight. 

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However, new reports have suggested that Stephens is now part of the upcoming UFC Iowa main card. The event will take place on May 3rd. The card will be headlined by the much anticipated bantamweight bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Cory Sandhagen. 

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Stephens had previously mentioned that his BKFC contract has ended and could potentially move back to UFC. The California-based fighter had three BKFC bouts and he won all of them. Given his recent surge in stardom, it was definitely a big loss for McGregor’s BKFC.

Conor McGregor’s direct threat from Jeremy Stephens after UFC return

After beating former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez at BKFC KnuckleMania 5, Jeremy Stephens’ confidence was at an all-time high. He also took this opportunity to go face to face with Conor McGregor in the middle of the ring, which made headlines. BKFC founder David Feldman also mentioned that the ‘Notorious’ also showed interest in fighting Stephens in the BKFC ring.

Jeremy Stephens fighting Eddie Alvarez at BKFC Knucklemania 5
Jeremy Stephens fighting Eddie Alvarez at BKFC Knucklemania 5 (via MMA Fighting)

Stephens and McGregor share a long history which started at the UFC 205 pre-fight presser. During the event, both fighters had a dispute which resulted in McGregor’s iconic ‘Who the f*** Is that guy?’ line. Stephens hasn’t forgotten it and is desperate to settle the scores with the Irishman. In a recent tweet, the American fighter made his intentions clear.

Bkfc @ufc @TheNotoriousMMA you cannot run from me, I will find you and I will Kill you boy! Your time is up, I got you a front row seat in IOWA too. Wells Fargo event center my hometown. Watch me Break another jaw.

Jeremy Stephens via X 

McGregor’s last fight was at UFC 2021 when he broke his leg while fighting Dustin Poirier. With fans desperate for his comeback, he has hinted at a potential BKFC debut for some time now. However, most fans still want him inside the UFC octagon before he quits fighting.

Can Conor McGregor make his UFC comeback?

In 2023, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler went against each other as TUF coaches and were expected to fight. The bout was scheduled at UFC 303 and the hype around it was huge. However, the ‘Mystic Mac’ pulled out from the fight citing his injured toe. As expected, it attracted an array of criticism but it didn’t bother the former UFC double champion. 

Since then, Chandler has moved on and has already fought Charles Oliveira. He will fight Paddy Pimblett next month. On the other hand, there are no reports about McGregor’s UFC comeback. CEO Dana White who was previously positive about the return, has also no idea about it. Apart from that, McGregor’s life outside fighting has remained consistently controversial.

Conor McGregor's UFC comeback is not happening
Conor McGregor’s UFC comeback is not happening (via X)

Recently, the Irish fighter had to pay $250K to settle a se*ual assault civil lawsuit, which made several headlines. His internet meltdowns and beef with other combat sports athletes have also been a major challenge to his popularity. The young athletes who used to look up to McGregor are now lost the respect for the ‘Notorious’

The Irishman has also faced criticism in his own country with fans shockingly bashing him on the streets. Despite all this, the global stardom of McGregor isn’t affected, fans are still intrigued about his next move. Nevertheless, it doesn’t feel like the ‘Mystic Mac’ is ever setting his foot inside the octagon again. 

Related: Conor McGregor luxury watch: What are the collections that the Irishman owns?