Conor McGregor stormed the BKFC stage in Newark like a man who hadn’t come to watch — he’d come to run the show.
The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship investor took centre stage at Thursday’s press conference ahead of BKFC 82 and aimed a blunt, public warning at Mike Perry: show up and win against Jeremy Stephens, or you’re out.
“The ‘King of Violence’ is making his return. You know what’s at stake, Michael, if you don’t perform, you’re gone,” McGregor bellowed, putting the full weight of his part-owner megaphone behind the threat.
The stakes aren’t idle hyperbole. Perry — who has gone 5-0 in BKFC since joining in 2022 and secured his last three wins by TKO — headlines the Prudential Center card in Newark, New Jersey this weekend in a DAZN-televised main event against former UFC vet Jeremy Stephens. As a professional boxer, Perry has lost both of his pro boxing bouts, including a high-profile 2024 defeat to Jake Paul. That loss still hangs heavy in this exchange: McGregor made it plain he sees that kind of misstep as grounds for dismissal.
“You can go back to those exhibition bouts, and those Misfits who put on the big gloves. We’ll part ways. Then who are you against – you’re against Jeremy Stephens. Who the f*** is that guy?” McGregor said, returning to a line that became viral between the two fighters years ago.
McGregor didn’t stop there. He leaned into his promoter hat and his ego in the same breath, promising a future payday for the winner and reminding everyone who’s really calling the shots.
“The hardest hitting 145-pounder (Stephens),” McGregor said. “They’re both angling for a fight with the big boss – me. I’ll fight the both of them at the same f***ing time. I’m the big boss, baby. Long live the Notorious.”
At times the exchange turned personal and profane — exactly the kind of chaos that sells tickets. McGregor doubled down on the dismissal threat in multiple permutations: “And you know what’s at stake, Michael. If you don’t perform, you’re gone. You can go back to those exhibition bouts and Misfits [Boxing]. We’ll part ways!” He later repeated the warning bluntly: “If you don’t perform, you’re done… A fart in the wind. That’ll be you if you don’t climb for a world title.”
Perry pushed back in his usual brash style, insisting he’d done more recently in combat sports than McGregor has, and demanding respect for his “King of Violence” billing.
“I’ve carried this whole s**t on my back,” Perry said, claiming he’d earned bigger opportunities regardless of McGregor’s threats. When the promoter-owner replied that a world title should be the next step, Perry shot back that his belt already carries that name and that he’s ready for whatever’s next — even an MMA return.
McGregor’s message included carrot and stick. He told Perry a path to a world title inside BKFC could be waiting — if he earns it. “You gotta fight for that world title, Mike,” McGregor said. “You’ve never been a world champion. You have a chance here.” He even suggested that the winner of Perry vs Stephens could be in line for either a title shot or a mega fight with McGregor himself down the line — and that McGregor would be watching the match through the lens of a competitor sizing up opponents for his own rumored BKFC debut.
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Not everything was pure heat. McGregor noted that Perry is “a good family man” and admitted a begrudging appreciation for the man who’s become one of BKFC’s biggest draws. But affection didn’t blunt the threat: “We built you, we can break you,” he warned. “You’re fighting for a world title if you can get through this, otherwise you’re fucking nothing.”
Names bounced around the podium. Dillon Danis — a flashpoint in his own right — was mentioned as a possible opponent down the line, and BKFC middleweight champion David Mundell’s name came up as the likely title road for Perry if he wins. Mundell has made clear he wants a shot at Perry, and McGregor urged Perry to stop “piggybacking” on exhibition options and instead climb the ladder in BKFC proper.
For the crowd and the cameras it was the kind of friction that sells events: an owner with star power publicly dangling a career on a single performance, an outspoken champion refusing to be bullied into submission, and a hungry challenger in Jeremy Stephens who, while smaller by natural fighting-weight, has a reputation for carrying dangerous power.
The drama is now out of the press conference and into the ring. BKFC 82 promises to deliver a consequential night: a marquee matchup for Perry, a litmus test for McGregor’s vision as a promoter, and, potentially, the last fight for Perry under the BKFC banner if McGregor’s ultimatum becomes reality.
Whatever happens in Newark, the message from McGregor is clear — and merciless: “If you don’t perform, you’re gone.”
Featured image credit: X/BKFC (Screenshot)
