“If you think I’m up here giving these speeches and leading these men into battle and I won’t step in there myself, think again. For sure Conor McGregor will fight in Bareknuckle Fighting Championship. Mark my words,” Conor McGregor thundered at BKFC’s recent press conference in Italy just a few days back.

And that does seem like an excellent idea for the Irishman, who is a part owner of the fledgling promotion. However, there is one huge roadblock in this plan. ‘Mystic Mac’ is still signed to the UFC and has two more fights left on his contract. However, podcaster and former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub thinks that that won’t be a problem.

“There’s some going on. I think the UFC probably, you know, will be willing to play ball there ‘cuz they do play ball with Bare Knuckle. And Conor’s an owner, minority owner, so there could be something there if that gets Conor back in the ring,” Schaub said.

Indeed, the UFC does play ball with the BKFC. Its President, David Feldman, for instance, met UFC CEO Dana White to get his blessings before giving McGregor a minority stake in the promotion. The BKFC didn’t need to do this, but they still did it as a mark of respect for the UFC. Respect and loyalty go a long way with Dana White!

That is why it is quite possible that the UFC CEO signs off and allows ‘Mystic Mac’ to go and box in the BKFC if Feldman and McGregor actually approach him with a plan. Not to mention there is an excellent fight just waiting for the former double champ in BKFC.

Conor McGregor’s possible BKFC debut could pave the way for many more UFC vets

“Really like, I mean we’re the big Conor fans over here. Conor versus Eddie Alvarez or Mike Perry, Conor-Mike Perry that’s the one I think. Would you favor Conor in that fight? Probably not against Mike Perry,” Schaub said. A Mike Perry vs. Conor McGregor matchup in bare-knuckle would be quite interesting.

After all, ‘Platinum’ has become the ‘Conor McGregor’ of bare-knuckle and is undoubtedly the biggest star in his sport by far. A clash between the two combat sports titans would undoubtedly put a lot of butts in a lot of seats and sell quite a few pay-per-views. Not to mention it would raise the profile of the BKFC, and more importantly, also raise its share price- which would financially benefit the minority owner, Conor McGregor.

But that isn’t all. Having McGregor fight there and with a raised profile, the BKFC may well be able to attract older UFC vets to it. The Irishman has already spoken about wanting to see UFC legends who can’t compete at the highest level in the bare-knuckle promotion.

“We’ve seen former UFC champions or UFC veterans move to other mixed martial arts promotions. They’ve fought MMA their entire careers, and it doesn’t have the same impact. Now, taking Justin Gaethje, a UFC veteran, former BMF holder, and interim belt holder, and putting him in Bare Knuckle – that’s exciting, really exciting. Putting him in another MMA organization, not so much,” McGregor said in an interview with ‘The Mac Life’ last year.

Gaethje, of course, is not quite there and still has some good, competitive fights against top-ranked UFC lightweights in him. Hell, he may even have another title run in him. But a couple of years down the line when ‘The Highlight’ is perhaps over the hill, it may be a good idea for him to join the BKFC.

And that goes for a lot of other UFC veterans. What better way to get the ball rolling on this than for McGregor to fight, say, Mike Perry in the BKFC? What do you think about Brendan Schaub’s take on the BKFC and Dana White?