Conor McGregor welcomes bare-knuckle boxing bout with former UFC fighter he made into a meme

07/09/2024 15:20

Conor McGregor could make his bare-knuckle boxing debut against Jeremy Stephens in a fight that has been eight years in the making.

Stephens has been embroiled in a bitter feud with McGregor since the UFC 205 press conference in 2016, where his attempts at drumming up interest in a fight with ‘Notorious’ were brutally put down by the dual-weight world champion.

One member of the media asked McGregor which fighter on the stage he thought could give him the toughest fight.

But before he could answer the question, Stephens interrupted: “Right here. Right here. The hardest-hitting 145lber.

“The real hardest-hitting 145iber. This guy TKOs people. When I knock people out, they don't f***ing move."

Stephens’ intervention proved to be a grave mistake, as the quick-witted Irishman turned around and uttered those now famous six words: “Who the f*** is that guy?”

‘Lil Heathen’ is now competing for McGregor-owned bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC and moved to 2-0 with the organisation on Friday night with a dominant unanimous decision win over Bobby Taylor.

In the immediate aftermath of his victory, Stephens took to the mic to call out his old rival McGregor.

“Utah you are some great f***ing fans, David Feldman said this is going to be a staple here,” he shouted.

“I would love to continue fighting here and f*** Conor McGregor.

“Who wouldn’t love to beat up their f***ing boss baby? I’m living the dream.”

McGregor has made it clear that he intends to compete in BKFC once his UFC contract, which has two fights left on it, is up.

And it appears he is open to the idea of sharing the BKFC ring with Stephens judging from his pre-fight Instagram post.

"In our co-main event also we have 'who the f*ck is that guy' facing off again against Bobby Taylor," McGregor wrote.

"Me and ‘who the f*ck’ is an exciting bare knuckle fight down the line 100 percent."

This comes after McGregor said at a BKFC press conference in July: “For me, I’ve got a bit of business left with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, two fights left on my contract.

“But for sure we have three lightweights up here and I have my eye on all of this.

“I’m not here up here just as a knower, player-manager I’d title myself on this.”