BKFC president David Feldman believes Conor McGregor will fight for his bare-knuckle boxing promotion within 18 months, describing the prospect as a "10 out of 10" as the organisation returns to Manchester tonight.
The show is headlined by former UFC stars Darren Till and Yoel Romero, the latest in a run of events featuring ex-UFC talent. McGregor, already a part-owner of BKFC, is recovering from the knee injury he suffered in the first round of his comeback fight against Max Holloway in July. If he returns to full fitness, he is contracted for one more UFC fight before becoming a free agent.
From warehouse beginnings to global arenas
Feldman started his promotion in a warehouse with one fight and four people watching. He is now selling out arenas worldwide and recently staged a show at Boston's Fenway Park. "When I came out with this in early 2010, 2011, the country wasn't ready for it yet; we weren't ready for it yet," he told Mirror Fighting.
"As the country evolved into wanting more things that were a little extreme, and people didn't pay attention as much and they were more on their phone... this became more of a sport for them because it was fast-paced, it was quick moments, it was what I call 'oh s***' moments."
"When I came out with it in 2018, the timing was right. Now that we're here in 2026, we're primed to be the top three player in all of combat sports and that's an amazing run in eight years. We didn't develop a promotion; we developed a sport. We had to get regulated everywhere around the world and we had to change perception of what people thought it was."
Safety data and McGregor's future
Bare-knuckle boxing attracts criticism over its perceived violence. Feldman counters with data compiled over the past eight years: "Our data now states we have less concussive and sub-concussive damage, we have fewer facial fractures, and we have fewer hand breaks than boxing or mixed martial arts - we only have more cuts."
On McGregor, Feldman said: "He's probably not going to fight his next MMA fight until March or April, and he has to get that out of the way first... I would say he will fight in 15 to 18 months."
