The Notorious Feud: Conor McGregor and Mike Perry’s Bare-Knuckle Bad Blood Boils Over Ahead of BKFC 82
With just three days until Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s (BKFC) blockbuster BKFC 82 event at the Prudential Center, the air is thick with anticipation—and unresolved tension. At the center of it all? A simmering rivalry between BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor and fan-favorite fighter “Platinum” Mike Perry, whose war of words has evolved from playful jabs to outright threats of dismissal and dreams of a dream matchup.
The bad blood traces back to July 2024, when Perry stepped in on short notice to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a high-profile boxing bout. Perry, a former UFC welterweight known for his unfiltered trash talk and aggressive style, put up a valiant effort but was stopped in the sixth round by stoppage. McGregor, who had invested in BKFC earlier that year and held a stake in the promotion, wasted no time weighing in. In a now-infamous social media post, the Irish superstar declared Perry “fired” from BKFC, quipping that the loss was unacceptable for the promotion’s standards. Perry, ever the provocateur, brushed it off as a joke at the time, but the comment lit a fuse that has burned for over a year.
Fast-forward to July 2025, and the feud reignited at a BKFC Champions Summit press conference in Hollywood, Florida. Perry, fresh off a string of bare-knuckle victories and reclaiming his “King of Violence” moniker, seized the microphone to call out McGregor directly. “Hey, I want to fight you,” Perry said, according to footage from the event. The two former UFC colleagues—McGregor a two-division champion, Perry a perennial gate-crasher—came face-to-face for the first time since the “firing.”
Conor McGregor, microphone in hand, fired back with venom: “You’re going to dance for me,” he snarled, implying Perry would have to earn his respect through performance rather than confrontation. The exchange, captured on video and shared widely across social media, drew laughs from the crowd but underscored a deeper rift. Perry later reflected on the moment in an interview with former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, expressing bemusement: “People are like, ‘You should’ve hit him,’ and I’m like, why? I’m a pro fighter. We toe the line.”
What followed was a whirlwind of back-and-forth. McGregor doubled down on social media, posting cryptic messages about Perry “dancing for my entertainment” and hinting at a potential bare-knuckle clash. Mike Perry, preparing for his BKFC return against Jeremy Stephens on October 4, played it cool but couldn’t hide his intrigue.
In late August, he told MMAWeekly that a fight with McGregor felt “incredibly possible,” adding, “There’s something that interests him about bare-knuckle… There’s real, real big money in it.” Perry even praised McGregor’s promotional efforts for BKFC, noting their shared history: “I’m very happy to have been involved and had brought him in the ring back in April ’23.”
The drama peaked in mid-August when BKFC President David Feldman teased a bombshell during a New Jersey press conference: McGregor was allegedly skipping the event to train for a bout against the winner of Perry vs. Stephens. “He’s actually very, very focused… the best Conor McGregor I’ve ever seen,” Feldman claimed, fueling speculation of “The Notorious” making his bare-knuckle debut. Fans erupted online, with posts urging McGregor to “fight Mike Perry” garnering thousands of interactions. But Feldman soon walked it back, admitting it was “complete fake news” designed to hype the card—a classic BKFC publicity stunt.
If a brief truce seemed to form amid announcements of a massive $25 million, 64-man BKFC tournament—where McGregor reportedly “buried the hatchet” with Perry—the peace was short-lived. By late September, McGregor was back on the attack via X (formerly Twitter), warning Perry that failure against Stephens could lead to another public sacking: “I sack him again in front of 17,000 fans.” The post, shared ahead of the sold-out Prudential Center showdown, has only amplified the stakes. Perry, undeterred, has leaned into the narrative, posting training clips and subtle digs at McGregor’s UFC obligations: “You’re still owned by the UFC. You can’t get out.”
As of Wednesday, Conor McGregor continued stoking the flames by promoting BKFC 82 on his personal X account, hyping the “17,000 screaming bare-knuckle fans” without directly naming Perry—but the subtext was clear. Replies poured in, with users like @DoseofDarwin bluntly asking, “You going to fight Mike Perry or what?” McGregor, who hasn’t fought since fracturing his tibia against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021, has teased a bare-knuckle foray multiple times, stating unequivocally in September, “I am 100% fighting bare knuckle.” Yet, with two UFC fights remaining on his contract and rumors swirling of a White House-headlined return, any Perry bout remains a tantalizing “what if?”
For Mike Perry, 34, this weekend’s clash with Stephens—a fellow UFC veteran with knockout power—represents more than a paycheck; it’s a proving ground. A win could propel him toward that elusive Conor McGregor showdown or at least silence the doubters. “If I beat Stephens with style, there’s no reason it can’t happen,” Perry mused recently.
BKFC 82, streaming live on DAZN, promises fireworks beyond the ring. Whether this feud culminates in fisticuffs or fades into promotional fodder, one thing is certain: McGregor and Perry know how to sell a fight. As the clock ticks down to Saturday, the combat sports world watches—and waits—for the next punchline, or punch thrown.
