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Buakaw wants another legend for next BKFC fight
Following a win against the legendary Saenchai at BKFC Thailand 5 this past Saturday, Buakaw Banchamek wants another legend for his next BKFC fight. Now 2-0 in the Squared Circle, Buakaw is ready to return, but he wants someone who could challenge him. That someone? A former UFC champion.
Shortly after BKFC Thailand 5, Buakaw caught up with promotion and shared he would love to fight Conor McGregor at some point.
“I’ve told BKFC I’d fight absolutely anyone under this new rule set, but it has to be a big name,” said Buakaw to BKFC. “I’m ready to go to war with anyone. I want someone to really test me. My ultimate fight would be against Conor McGregor in a bare knuckle Thai fight, but I wonder if McGregor would even take a fight like that against me.
“I doubt it.”
Conor McGregor previously interested in BKFC
Conor McGregor has expressed interest in a fight under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) banner. That came after he attended BKFC 41, which featured a slew of former UFC fighters such as Chad Mendes, Eddie Alvarez, Luke Rockhold and Mike Perry, the latter of whom actually got the ‘Notorious’ one in the Squared Circle.
After ‘Platinum’ Perry earned a tooth-shattering (T)KO against Rockhold, he used his time on the microphone to invite McGregor into the ring for a friendly face-off. Equipped with a BKFC belt, the Irishman agreed and exchanged words with Perry. Like Buakaw, Perry was also interested in fighting a big name such as McGregor.
”He likes to box, too,” said Perry at his post-BKFC 41 press conference. “We could throw hands. And he gave me a face-off. How cool was that, bro? That’s what’s up. I’m real humble, to be honest, because I’ve been fighting a long time, I’ve been in some ups and downs, some tough fights, and some things didn’t go my way. And these guys are coming over here fighting me at what seems to be my best attributes. I got a chin, I got some hands, and it’s bare-knuckle. Most people don’t like getting hit like that. So whoever wants the smoke, dog.”
Though McGregor said he would crossover to BKFC, the former UFC champion has other things to attend to, such as his highly anticipated UFC return.
McGregor focused on UFC return though
Conor McGregor recently revealed he re-entered the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool in anticipation for a 2024 UFC return. The goal is to fight Michael Chandler, who he coached opposite against during the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Despite the UFC-USADA relationship ending in 2024, McGregor still needs to get tested for six months ahead of his return. That timeline has many seeing the ‘Notorious’ one headlining the massive pay-per-view event, UFC 300, but UFC CEO Dana White remains coy on what he has in store for his biggest star.
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