Just as the waves of his Hollywood debut in ‘Road House’ were dying down, Conor McGregor made another big move. Only this time, it was in the world of combat sports. During the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event KnuckleMania 4 over the weekend, founder and president David Feldman dropped the announcement that Conor McGregor was now an owner of the BKFC. But how will the UFC’s biggest star partnering up with Dana White’s rival promoter look for the Ultimate Fighting Championship?

The Irishman himself appeared in the announcement video to share the huge news about McGregor Sports and Entertainment partnering up with the Philadelphia-based promotion. “Welcome to the big leagues. David Feldman, baby, we did it,” said the 35-year-old. This announcement takes us back to the time McGregor wanted to own shares in the UFC. Zuffa sold the UFC for around 4.2 billion USD to the WME-IMG group back in 2016, when McGregor was at the peak of his popularity and MMA career.

McGregor wanted ownership due to his two-belt achievements and the recognition he brought to the UFC. There was also news that 23 celebrities were partial owners of UFC and McGregor even said, “Conan O’Brien owns the UFC nowadays, so where’s my share?” ‘Mystic Mac’ was even ready to throw hands with Mark Wahlberg, who owned shares in the company.

The Hollywood star had offered to sell his shares to the Irishman when he caught wind of the latter’s interest in ownership. But he later withdrew the offer after the UFC inked lucrative deals with ESPN among other bigwigs. “I challenge Mark Wahlberg on the very same card. Back when Mark Wahlberg was Marky Mark, I’d’ve still slapped the ears off him and took my UFC shares back,” McGregor said via a tweet in 2019.

This bold move from the BKFC also meant Feldman had to field questions about displeasing Dana White. The president of BKFC said, “Dana White has a juggernaut with the UFC. I mean Conor McGregor certainly moves the needle for him but he is very successful without him. Not that he’s fighting for us but as him promoting our product. I mean you’re probably a little mad your number one star is going to talk about a different company so you probably not very happy about it.” Feldman also added that White did not have to worry about them, yet.

The announcement of ‘The Notorious’ owning BKFC has come as a surprise to the fans and also maybe to White. According to the fans, the dramatic turn of events of McGregor not becoming a fighter in this promotion but an owner might have aggravated Dana White.

Fans think Dana White might not be happy

Most fans think that the UFC head honcho might be regretting not making Conor Mcgregor a partial owner of UFC. While some other fans think that there is no connection between the two promotions, one fan was under the impression that McGregor might have tried to own UFC, but they did not let him. The fan said, “Conor doing this while still fighting at the ufc too. maybe he tried to own a slice of the ufc and they wouldn’t give him it.”

Another follower said that White might be angry and wrote, “Dana is going be pi**ed alright lol BKFC is going to the next level now. Just think if McGregor gets on a few cards the eyes it will generate…Say what u want Mcgregor is making moves.” To this, one fan refuted and said, “Why Dana will be angry, Conor is fighting there, he’s taking part in the ownership of the company.” 

One follower complimented McGregor’s business strategies. “Conor was never my friend.  Dana White.” Conor wanted this type of business deal with UFC when Lorenzo and Frank were still owners of the UFC. They didn’t give it to him. He has it with BKFC. Like or Dislike Conor, he is business smart.”

A UFC buff complimented the president of BKFC for keeping it diplomatic and not starting any beef between UFC and his promotion. They wrote, “Credit for keeping it real. “He’s not worried about us, not yet” is as honest as it gets. BKFC is growing and probably not going anywhere. Will they ever catch the UFC? No, but it’s nice to see a promoter recognize that there’s no use in punching up and making enemies with Dana. The crossover is there, I could see them having a working relationship in the future.”

One fan reiterated that the two promotions were not in any connections and wrote, “Dana doesn’t give a sh*t,” While another fan praised the president of BKFC and wrote, “I like this dude.” 

Not only does Conor McGregor now own half of BKFC, but he is also willing to fight at least once under the promotion. The president was also on board with the same idea. With that being said, McGregor is now concentrating on his fight with Michael Chandler set for UFC 303. What big move will we see next from the Dubliner?