Conor McGregor usually takes every opportunity to get involved in a fight, but this time he had no choice.
McGregor, a co-owner of the bare-knuckle promotion, was front and centre for his promotion’s weigh-ins on Friday.
He took a jumbo private jet one day prior from Dublin to the 32-degree climate of Dubai for BKFC 72, which is the promotion’s first doubleheader as fights take place on Friday and Saturday night.
The weigh-ins for night two took place on Friday afternoon and proceedings got extremely heated, not just from the weather.
Briton Hannah Rankin fights Jessica Borga for the inaugural BKFC women’s featherweight title at The Dubai Tennis Stadium in the co-main event on the Dubai card.
Both women came face-to-face for the first time and things got intense as Rankin stepped up to Borga with her fist placed straight on her opponent’s jaw.
The American didn’t take too kindly to the approach, took a step back, and clocked the Brit on the jaw with a right hand.
McGregor, still, of course, flaunting the BKFC title in his hands, immediately stepped between the pair to avoid the situation escalating.
BKFC Founder David Feldman didn’t look pleased as he dragged Rankin back and shook his head at Borga.
“This is a cracking contest, this is a cracking card, and it’s fit for royalty baby,” McGregor said at the weigh-ins.
“Dubai the city of gold, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is here – let’s go.”
BKFC 72 is headlined by Kai Stewart vs Tommy Strydom who are both undefeated and fight for the world featherweight title.
This wasn’t the first time McGregor has been involved in a brawl at one of his BKFC weigh-in events.
Back in October, the former two-division UFC champion revelled among the chaos after one of his fighters attempted to headbutt the other when they came eye-to-eye and a brawl erupted.
He was also left stunned after chaos erupted at BKFC 70’s weigh-in when Steve Herelius tried to attack Leonardo Perdomo with a set of scales.
McGregor has been actively promoting BKFC around the world since he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in his last UFC appearance four years ago.
The Irishman has made several appearances across the promotion’s fight nights, including in Newcastle for BKFC 68 back in November.
He showed up midway through the main card with his entourage to witness crazy knockouts at the top of the bill.
“We’re on the hunt for the baddest motherf***** around these parts. We’re crowing champions and putting on big shows,” he said after the event.
McGregor hasn’t fought since his second defeat to Poirier in 2021, and even hinted at retirement from the UFC last month.
This prompted a strong reaction from the MMA community, including UFC icon Chael Sonnen, who believes McGregor’s fighting career is over.
“He made a statement and it was a small one but my ears picked up on it,” Sonnen said.
“He simply said, ‘Greatness doesn’t rush.’ He made this statement and I remember going for the first time ever, ‘That’s not true.’
“…Greatness is rushed. Everything in sports, everything you have to do has got to be done right now, and that used to be his mindset.
“He put that simple sentence out and I saw it and said it is a wrap.”
