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Conor McGregor’s recent ownership stake in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) sparked mixed reviews, but one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran is comparing it to Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White.

While McGregor has yet to step foot back inside of the Octagon he has remained active with other lucrative business ventures. This includes his alcohol companies and a recent agreement to become a part owner in BKFC. The Irish superstar has always respected bareknuckle fighting so the move made sense.

McGregor’s involvement with BKFC is only going to grow as he digs his heels in deeper, but any additional attention and interest the former UFC champion can bring to the booming fight promotion the better. After all, McGregor is the most recognized MMA fighter in the history of the sport and one of the most popular combat athletes in the world today.

Some may scoff at McGregor’s interest to dive into BKFC, but others are looking at the Irishman’s new ownership stake as a huge step in the right direction. Just ask former UFC contender, Jeremy Stephens, who currently competes under the BKFC banner. Despite Stephens being on the wrong end of one of McGregor’s most infamous trash talk moments of all time he’s all in on “Notorious” being part owner of BKFC.

“It’s f—king awesome,” Stephens recently told MMA Junkie. “I feel like he’s the Fertittas to the Dana White. He’s the money behind the driving force. Anything Conor touches, it’s gold. He brings a lot of eyes to the brand. One thing you can say about him is you can tell he really believes in this creative, psychotically-skilled BKFC, is really what it is. I feel like they’re going to start signing real, legit fighters who are going to have an opportunity to come over here and really do big, big business here in bareknuckle. I feel he sees it the way we see it. It’s a growing sport. You can’t really mess around. You’ve got to be real creative in your craft.”

While Stephens and McGregor haven’t seen eye-to-eye in the past, “Lil Heathen” is more than willing to bury the hatchet moving forward in effort to focus on bigger business. Even if the two crossed paths in the future Stephens believes all will be fine.

“Business is business. We’ll see the vibes when he gets there,” said Stephens. “I just go based on vibes. But as of right now, he’s behind it. He’s writing the checks. He’s keeping the business afloat, so I have nothing but gratitude for that. Like I said, Conor brings a lot of eyes. I fought on the cards UFC 189, flying kneed Bermudez. These Irish fans were some of the best fans in the world. They were buying my family and I drinks and chanting all night, singing, shutting the bar down. That was like that at 189 when I threw the flying knee. They’re the best fans in the world. Conor (is a) big name, big eyes. Like I said, big, big business here in bareknuckle.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Oscar De La Hoya has some career advice for his old friend Floyd Mayweather.

The post-retirement phase of Mayweather’s career has seen the legendary boxer engage in a number of exhibition bouts with his most recent fight being a rematch against John Gotti III. Mayweather’s first fight with Gotti ended in a chaotic brawl, while the second went the full eight rounds without an official score.

Mayweather has also taken exhibition matchups with Logan Paul, fighter and former reality TV star Aaron Chalmers, and Japanese combat sports stars Mikuru Asakura and Tenshin Nasukawa, to a mostly lukewarm reaction from fight fans.

Count De La Hoya among the detractors. “The Golden Boy” addressed Mayweather’s exploits in a recent video, asking that his fellow retiree hang up the gloves for good.

“In the middle of the second round [of the Gotti fight], Floyd literally had the referee swapped out,” De La Hoya said on Instagram. “He didn’t like that the referee told him to stop hitting behind the head. Floyd is used to having the refs do whatever he wants and he wasn’t getting his way this time. It was so embarrassing.

“Floyd, you’re 50 years old. You’re a legend in this sport. I’ve stood up for you in countless interviews, including Shannon Sharpe’s podcast last week. But you have to stop embarrassing yourself with these exhibitions. I know life is hard, I know life is expensive, but come on, put your legacy first. Nobody wants to remember you like this.”

De La Hoya went on to address Mayweather’s recent legal problems, which involve the 47-year-old being sued by a Miami jeweler, who alleges that the boxer owes him money for several items acquired in 2021.

From De La Hoya’s perspective, this is all just tough love that Mayweather needs to hear.

“And it gets worse,” De La Hoya said. “Your jeweler filed a lawsuit against you in Miami and many are saying you’re going to have to sell off your assets. I hate seeing this happen and I’ve always said, ‘It’s hard to make money, but it’s even harder to keep it.’

“Floyd, I’m rooting for you, come on, let’s turn it around.”

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Carlos Prates has been a fantastic edition to the UFC roster since earning his contract via the last season of the Contender Series.

The Fighting Nerds athlete has gone 3-0 inside the Octagon, stopping all three opponents with devastating finishes.

His latest win over Li Jingliang at UFC 305 set him up well for an even bigger name next time out, and given the fact that he has put on a show with each appearance, a ranked opponent isn’t out of the question.

When looking at the fighters that occupy the ranking sports from 15-10, one name in particular stands out to Prates.

Carlos Prates Reveals That He Emulated Michael Page For ‘MVP’s Only Knockout Loss

In a recent interview with Sherdog.com, Prates gave his thoughts on all of the potential ranked opponents that he could be matched with in the near future.

He revealed an interesting story from his earlier career when arriving at the name of one of the division’s most talented strikers.

Michael “Venom” Page is an incredibly difficult opponent to train for because you don’t find people that have his unique style combined with size and reach, very easily.

Prates said that he has been a stand in for “MVP” when he was training alongside Douglas Lima, who fought Page twice in Bellator.

In their first meeting, Lima would hand the Brit his first defeat at Bellator, via a ruthless second-round knockout.

Prates believes that after being a part of the camp for this fight, he has the secret to become the second man to stop Page.

“Michael Page would be a really good fight. I would like to fight him, it would be a great bonus again. You know the first time he lost to Douglas Lima? I was a sparring partner of Douglas. I was doing like MVP and Douglas was doing his game. He, Douglas and his coach, came to Thailand and we trained all together… So it’s kinda I know the way to knock the guy out.”

Read also: Shavkat Rakhmonov Trusts UFC’s Meritocracy To Prevent Conor McGregor Title Shot Hijack, Reveals Belal Muhammad Turned Down UFC 307 Date

Continue Reading UFC Contender Targets Michael ‘Venom’ Page Having Emulated Him In The Past: “I Know The Way To Knock The Guy Out” at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Relive the night Georges St-Pierre competed in the UFC’s octagon for the final time, and did so with an incredible accomplishment.

The longtime former welterweight champion returned to action for the first time in four years and challenged Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title in the main event of UFC 217, which took place Nov. 4, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

After a tough start that saw St-Pierre busted open by Bisping, “Rush” was able to hurt his opponent en route to a third-round rear-naked choke submission to become a two-division champion.

The main event between St-Pierre and Bisping capped off a fight card with three title bouts, which also included Cody Garbrandt defending the bantamweight belt against rival T.J. Dillashaw and Rose Namajunas challenging Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the strawweight title.

UFC 217 also featured a welterweight matchup between Stephen Thompson and Jorge Masvidal, along with Paulo Costa vs. Johny Hendricks in a middleweight bout.

Watch the replay of UFC 217 in the video above, starting on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET courtesy of the UFC’s YouTube channel.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Danny Aarons and Danny Simpson won’t have to give up their prized possessions after all.

The main event of Saturday’s Misfits Boxing 17 event at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, ended in a hotly contested split draw after YouTuber Danny Aarons and retired Premier League standout Danny Simpson battled for four exciting—if less-than-technical—rounds.

While both men are likely disappointed with the result, it does mean that their gutsy pre-fight wager is now of no consequence. Aarons, a popular YouTuber, was to give Simpson his gold play button (a plaque given to content creators who have reached 1,000,000 subscribers) if he lost, while Simpson put an even more prestigious prize on the line: The Premier League medal that he won as a key member of the Leicester City team that miraculously went on a miraculous championship run in 2016.

In what was the first-ever boxing match for Aarons and Simpson, their inexperience showed as they engaged in a sloppy 12-minute brawl. The middle frames saw both men have flashes of effective offense, with the longer Simpson keeping Aarons at bay with punches from range in Round 2, and Aarons getting his combinations going in Round 3. It appeared to be anyone’s fight heading into the fourth and final round.

Neither fighter was able to pull away in Round 4 as all technique went out the window and the action devolved into a sloppy brawl. When the final bell rang, it was unclear who would walk out with the victory and, as it turned out, no one did.

Elsewhere on the card, light heavyweight champion Anthony Taylor handed Gabriel Silva—the son of MMA legend Anderson Silva—a devastating TKO loss, fitness influencer HSTikkyTokky ran through over-matched reality TV star George Fensom, and Deen the Great successfully defended his lightweight title with a third-round TKO of Dave Fogarty.

See Misfits Boxing 17 results below.

Danny Aarons vs. Danny Simpson ends in a split draw (38-38, 39-37, 37-39)

Anthony Taylor def. Gabriel Silva via TKO (R3, 2:54) — light heavyweight title fight

HSTikkyTokky def. George Fensom via TKO (R1, 1:19)

Ben Williams def. Warren Spencer via TKO (R2, 0:45)

Deen the Great def. Dave Fogarty via TKO (R3, 2:57) — lightweight title fight

Sami Hamed def. Jesse Clarke via TKO (corner stoppage) (R2, 2:21)

Mike Edwards def. Jake Cornish via unanimous decision (49-46 x2, 50-47)

Minikon def. DTG via majority decision (48-48, 48-47 x2)

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