The party doesn’t start until Conor McGregor shows up.
McGregor showed up late for Thursday’s press event ahead of Saturday’s BKFC KnuckleMania V card in Philadelphia, PA. Once he stepped on stage and took the podium, the Irish megastar apologized … for absolutely nothing!
“Oh, Philly,” McGregor said. “Sorry I’m late. I don’t give a f*ck. I’m the big boss around here,” McGregor said. “Philadelphia, what’s up? I’m here to summon the gods of fighting into action. May they turn our combatants’ knuckles to knives. And on Saturday night, may we all bleed in the honor of Philadelphia’s rich fighting history.
“May we, as Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s organization, the alien of combat sport, rise above the night’s sky and rain down blows viciously, and prove our worth against any deniers” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Conor McGregor backs former foe eddie alvarez in knuckleMania headliner
McGregor was also on hand to oversee the faceoff between KnuckleMania main eventers Eddie Alvarez and Jeremy Stephens. Of course, the Irishman has a history with Alvarez, defeating ‘The Underground King’ in November 2016 to capture the UFC lightweight championship.
Despite having a history with both Alvarez and Stephens, ‘Mystic Mac’ made it pretty clear who he was backing ahead of Saturday’s event inside Wells Fargo Arena.
“May local boy and former UFC lightweight champion, former Bellator world champion, shut this man up over here, Jeremy Stephens,” McGregor said. “He’s coming in here into Philadelphia on this great sporting weekend and trying to take you out, Eddie. This is as big a fight as it gets with world title fight implications. Like I said, combatants, turn your knuckles into knives.
“Bleed in the honor of Philadelphia’s rich fighting history and show the people what Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is about. Let’s go, Philadelphia. Let’s go, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.”
Checkout the full fight card for KnuckleMania V below:
BKFC ‘KnuckleMania 5’ DAZN Main Card (9 p.m. ET):
- Eddie Alvarez vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Mick Terrill vs. Ben Rothwell for the BKFC Heavyweight Championship
- Taylor Starling vs. Bec Rawlings
- Patrick Brady vs. Zachary Calmus
- Dustin Pague vs. JD Burns
- Travis Thompson vs. Zachary Pannell
- John Garbarino vs. Apostle Spencer
- Pat Sullivan vs. Kaine Tomlinson, Jr.
- Cody Russell vs. Logan Tucker
- Phil Caracappa vs. Noah Norman
- Zedekiah Montanez vs. Brandon Meyer
- Itso Babulaidze vs. Bryan McDowell
BKFC ‘KnuckleMania 5’ YouTube Prelims Card (8 p.m. ET):
- Joey Dawejko vs. Steven Banks
Card subject to change.