After becoming David Feldman’s partner in owning Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, Conor McGregor has never really taken a step back from hyping up the game before events. Back when the organization landed in Spain, in October 2024, ‘The Notorious’ had his fame work wonders and ensured a massive influx of fans to the event. Earlier in January, he took charge and helped break some records with BKFC Knucklemania V. And this time, he made some strong statements while promoting BKFC 70 in Hollywood, putting Dana White and other fight promoters on alert. 

The event on 27 March 2025 was headlined by Luis Palomino and Howard Davis. In the co-main event, Leonardo Perdomo clashed with Steve Herelius after exciting the fans with their altercation at the weigh-ins. Nevertheless, bringing BKFC to Hollywood, Florida, was a pleasurable act for McGregor. Why? Because that place is Bare-Knuckle Fighting’s home. While promoting the event before the fights, McGregor held the microphone and hyped the event by giving a shoutout to Lil Pump, Shaquille O’Neal, Adin Ross, and David Benevidez, all of whom were in attendance at Hard Rock.

Well, ‘Big Shaq’ is a fan when it comes to combat sports. And having him in attendance at a BKFC event speaks volumes. Not only that, but the former Lakers’ star even pitched in to invest in BKFC back in 2021. Weighing in on that, the BKFC boss, David Feldman, said, “Now we’ve got one of the most sought-after sports figures in the entire world. Who doesn’t know Shaq? And now he’s going to be part of this company and it’s going to make a lot for people want to be part of the company.’’ And the biggest attraction for Shaq was the fact that there were no gloves involved. 

Thereafter, ‘Mystic Mac’ said, “And I’ll tell you this now. There’s no other fight promotion doing anything around the game like Bare-Knuckle. Nothing. We are leading the way, leading the charge… You know, they say it’s as real as it gets. No, no, baby. This is as intense as it gets. It gets no better than Bare-Knuckle Fighting. And like I said, no other fight promotion is doing a thing worth even consideration! Bare-knuckle is leading the charge.” 

The talk of the fighting realm is that McGregor’s presence in the BKFC further boosted the organization’s fan base. That might just be the reason why BKFC Knucklemania V, earlier in January, witnessed an influx of so many people. And for that, McGregor was truly proud. Let’s take a look at what the former UFC double champion said about the event’s success. 

Conor McGregor shines through with BKFC’s success

Right after Jeremy Stephens forced Eddie Alvarez’s corner to throw the towel in the third round, McGregor took control of his social media profile and revealed that the event had broken some records. He reshared Ariel Helwani’s tweet, which claimed that BKFC Knucklemania V had an attendance of 17,762 people. This was indeed more than what any MMA or boxing event in Philadelphia could achieve in modern times. Needless to say, this was a moment to celebrate. 

Reacting to the MMA reporter’s tweet, ‘The Notorious’ quoted, “Ye and then how about the fights? You like? Hahaha Who’s looking forward to the MMA/Fight podcast shows this week? Us in HQ BKFC that’s who! BKFC WINS AGAIN!” And at the post-fight press conference for BKFC 70, McGregor pointed out that BKFC was on the rise. He said, “Nothing in combat sports comes close. Bare knuckle is on top. We’re on the rise. We’ve gone global.”

Of course, the event was also pretty entertaining. ‘El Zambo’ managed to get his revenge on Herelius and claimed the Knockout of the Night bonus. Justin Ibarrola’s 2nd round KO win and Peter Peraza’s 3rd round KO win got them performance bonuses. And the Fight of the Night bonus went to the main eventers, after ‘Baboon’ defeated ‘HD’ via a unanimous decision. No wonder ‘Big Shaq’ and other big names got tickets to the show.  

What are your thoughts on BKFC’s rise? Do you think bare-knuckly fighting has the potential to overtake UFC in terms of fan following? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.