Conor McGregor is the biggest star mixed martial arts has produced, and his BKFC press conference threats didn't age well. The former two-division UFC champion, now a part-owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, hosted the BKFC 82 presser in October 2025 and threatened to fire Mike Perry if he lost to Jeremy Stephens, saying we made you, if you don't perform, you're gone. Perry proceeded to knock Stephens down six times en route to a fifth-round finish, forcing McGregor to eat his own words. McGregor also revived his old UFC 205 jab at Stephens, who he'd once dismissed with a mocking who the f*** is that guy. Known for explosive left-hand power and relentless trash talk, McGregor's ferocious presence remains the loudest voice in the room.
Conor McGregor's pre-fight bravado came back to bite him after Mike Perry delivered a dominant fifth-round finish over Jeremy Stephens at BKFC 82 in October 2025, leaving the Irishman forced to swallow his own words.
McGregor, 38, is the former two-division UFC champion who built one of the most recognizable brands in combat sports history. Now a part-owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, he stepped into the BKFC 82 press conference and publicly threatened to fire Perry if he lost, reportedly telling the room that his organization had made Perry and that a poor performance would cost him his spot. McGregor — who carries a professional record of 22 wins and 7 losses, a 74-inch reach, and a left hand that generated 5.27 significant strikes per minute during his UFC career — is rarely short of confidence behind a microphone. He also revived a line from the UFC 205 era, recycling his infamous dismissal of Stephens with a mocking rhetorical question that had once made headlines years earlier.
Perry, 35, silenced any doubt in emphatic fashion. Known as "Platinum," the American fighter carries a record of 14 wins and 8 losses and connects on 47 percent of his significant strikes while landing 4.32 per minute — numbers that reflect the kind of high-output aggression that makes him dangerous in a bare-knuckle format. He knocked Stephens down six times across the contest before completing the finish in the fifth round.
Stephens, 40, the veteran known as "Lil' Heathen," brought a 29-23-0 record and orthodox five-foot-nine frame into the bout. At 3.15 significant strikes per minute, he has shown durable output across a long career, but he could not withstand Perry's pressure on the night.
Why it matters
- McGregor's public firing threat turned the bout into a referendum on his authority as a BKFC co-owner
- Perry's performance reinforced his status as one of bare-knuckle boxing's most compelling draws
- The McGregor-Stephens rivalry, dormant since the UFC 205 era, was briefly reignited before Perry settled the evening on his own terms
