Conor McGregor recently made big news but outside the octagon.
The UFC superstar was back in the headlines after he reveled that he’s invested in BKFC, making him a part owner in the leading bareknuckle boxing promotion. BKFC president David Feldman is excited to partner up with McGregor but not only because of the extra funding. Feldman expects – and wants – McGregor to be hands-on in the business, which is why it makes him the perfect partner for BKFC.
“There’s a lot of people throwing money in the combat sports landscape right now, (but) the money isn’t the hardest thing to come by. It’s getting the right partnership,” Feldman told MMA Junkie. “We didn’t want just a money partnership with Conor McGregor because that doesn’t make sense. We want input, we want his persona, we want him to blow it up and do the things that he does.
“He’s got great ideas. He’s got phenomenal business acumen. Look, the guy has built a lot of stuff around his career and what he’s done, so we don’t want him to be quiet. We want to make as much noise as possible.”
Beyond his ideas and business skills, Feldman is also excited to have McGregor on board due to his influence in the combat sports world. He believes BKFC now being attached to the McGregor name will open many doors for the promotion.
“There’s a lot of things out there in sponsorships, TV deals, and different types of investments and different places to do fights, and I think all of those things, Conor lends a big hand in,” Feldman said. “Just his name and how he talks about the sport and how much he likes it and where he thinks this sport is going to go, it’s only a big plus for us.
“When I think down the road, where do I see this? I’ve said this for a long time, but I think we have a strong case to be the No. 2 combat sports promotion in the world, and I think this solidifies that.”
McGregor’s involvement in BKFC came out of left field for many, including Feldman, given that he’s still an active fighter signed to the UFC.
“It was never something that we were thinking about until it came up,” Feldman said. “We were obviously a little hesitant on it because he’s a UFC guy, he’s their fighter, and he has fights left with them, and he has a great relationship with Dana and the entire team and just had to figure out how it could work. We figured out how it could work.
“A lot of people have been talking about this lately, but we don’t consider ourselves competition to the UFC, and I don’t think the UFC sees us as competition. Not even on our scale but on our sport. I just think we created our own lane. We obviously sometimes compete for the same fighters at times, but at the end of the day, we’re just a whole different product than they are.”
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