Mike Perry appeared on BKFC: KnuckleMania 4 where he fought Thiago Alves. It was a huge event for the promotion and it featured stars like Ben Rothwell, Todd Duffee, and Julian Lane other than the exciting main event. However, the company had another major surprise for the fans who tuned in to watch the fight card. During the broadcast, it was announced that Conor McGregor is now an owner of BKFC.
However, there was no further clarification on how much of the company McGregor had bought. By the sounds of it, it seems like “The Notorious One“ is a part owner of the company. He was also quite excited about the venture and left a video message for BKFC viewers during the KnuckleMania 4 broadcast.
He told fans, “Welcome to the big leagues. David Feldman, baby we did it.”
However, one can not imagine UFC President Dana White being too happy with the announcement. McGregor is finally returning to fighting after nearly 3 years on the sidelines due to the brutal leg break at UFC 264. He will take on former Bellator star Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 main event.
With only months to go, seeing McGregor make huge business deals and drinking would not please Dana White. However, that does not affect White’s business relationships with Conor.
BKFC President David Feldman has an exciting update after the Conor McGregor announcement
While BKFC is certainly a rising promotion in the fight game, they are still miles off UFC and PFL-Bellator. However, the announcement of partnering with Conor McGregor will certainly help boost their brand. Former UFC star Nate Diaz was also in attendance during the event and even he was surprised at the production quality for the event.
With McGregor on board, the company is planning on expanding and President David Feldman had an exciting update for the fans in that regard.
He said, “We’re in talks with some of the biggest names in boxing, we’re in talks with some of the biggest names in MMA and I think the events that happened this week for us, put us in a great position to pull that off now. Not gonna mention the names, but yes, in the next three months, there’s gonna be a signing spree here.”
Feldman also addressed the issue of whether Dana White would be worried about the Dublin native buying a stake in BKFC. He added that UFC is a successful company even without McGregor, so perhaps it wouldn’t worry White that much. However, David also added that seeing Dana’s biggest superstar talking about a different company could be annoying for the UFC head honcho.
Dana White previously shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor attending BKFC events
In August 2023, Mike Perry defeated Luke Rockhold at BKFC 41 after the latter could not continue and chose to retire. During the event, the first-ever UFC double champ, Conor McGregor, was in attendance. In the post-fight interview, Perry invited Conor for a face-off inside the ring. The 35-year-old obliged and the two had an intense face-off. While McGregor had no intention of fighting Mike, it was still entertaining to see them face to face.
Many fans wondered, how did Dana White feel about it? At the time, there were negotiations taking place between UFC and Conor McGregor about returning to the Octagon. However, not much came off it and it was quite frustrating for the fans to witness and they repeatedly asked the UFC President about updates. Hence, a section of the fan base thought the Perry-McGregor face-off would rub White the wrong way.
However, he was surprisingly calm about it. Dana said, “Yeah, I think that Conor went out and was having fun and got caught up in the moment. The dude [Perry] called him into the ring and he [McGregor] did it. I also saw him pounding a bottle of Proper No. Twelve, I’m sure that probably had something to do with it too. Listen man at the end of the day, Conor has done a lot here, he’s made a lot of money. The guy is out having fun and you know, it’s all good.” (h/t via Sportskeeda)
The 54-year-old also added that Conor McGregor perhaps went to the event in 2023 as a fan. However, as BKFC President David Feldman hinted, the conversation about them entering a business partnership started after that appearance.
Fans react to Conor McGregor owning BKFC
Business ventures are nothing new for Conor McGregor. He was one of the founders of ‘Proper No. Twelve” Irish whiskey, which was later sold for $600 million. McGregor also owns ‘The Black Forge’, which is a pub in Dublin. However, this will be the first time when he is investing in the fighting promotion.
Fans had a lot of hilarious reactions to it and some even wondered if two of his rivals Artem Lobov and Paulie Malignaggi will have jobs in the promotion after Conor’s takeover.
Here are some fan reactions to the matter
Artem and Paulie are fired 😮💨
— raxywoufb (@Raxy_wou) April 28, 2024
That’s such a Bruce Wayne move 😭
— ⭐⭐🌟 (@Dovahkiin__22) April 28, 2024
OMFG no wonder Dana isn’t promoting his fight w Chandler!! Absolutely no marketing
— Vercingetorix (@vercingetorixAV) April 28, 2024
great! never gonna watch bkfc again
— KSI Fandom (@JJtheGoatKSIfan) April 28, 2024
Artem Lobov you are now unemployed
— Charlie Quinn (@CharlieQuinnMMA) April 28, 2024
Fighters owning fighting promotions are nothing new. Khabib Nurmagomedov owned ‘Eagle FC’, while Jorge Masvidal owns a bare-knuckle MMA promotion, ‘Gamebred Fighting Championship’. So it will be interesting to see how BKFC develops under Conor’s ownership.
