Conor McGregor certainly isn’t lacking on the ‘former UFC rival’ front, although the Irishman is more than capable of burying the hatchet when he spots a marketing opportunity.
This past weekend, two of his most iconic UFC rivals, Jeremy ‘Lil Heathen’ Stephens and former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, shut down Philadelphia in the main event of BKFC KnuckleMania V.
After three insane rounds of action, ‘The Underground King’ was forced to throw in the towel after Stephens landed a monstrous overhand right – Alvarez has now revealed the extent of the damage he sustained.
Eddie Alvarez reveals horrific injury suffered at BKFC KnuckleMania V
Eddie Alvarez was badly dropped by Jeremy Stephens as the third round of their BKFC KnuckleMania V main event came to an end; and failed to answer the call for the fourth.
Taking to Instagram late last night, Alvarez would share an X-ray of the gruesome injury he suffered during that viral showdown, with grizzly images showing that his lower mandible now has a sizable crack.
“Got hit with a kill shot in the first or second … I did my best to keep a Gameface and ignore it. By the 3rd round the damage was too much,” Alvarez wrote in the caption of the post.
“Please understand how bad I wanted this and what I sacrificed in order to Win, it wasn’t my night. Bare Knuckle is as real as it gets. Unpredictable, Fast Pace and violent …. Congrats to all the new Up and coming Philly stand outs.
“Whether I win or lose is not as important as Philadelphia/Pennsylvania slowly becoming the most dominate Area in the country for Combat Sports. BKFC is the fastest Growing and will be the Greatest Show on Earth .. Mark my words. Thank you Philadelphia for showing out.”
It didn’t take long for those images to reach BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor, who re-shared the X-ray to his own Instagram page with the caption “Fighting Legend.”
“It’s not a game. It’s a war and the war goes on,” he wrote in a separate story, with fans in the comments section keen to wish Alvarez a speedy recovery.
Conor McGregor praises Jeremy Stephens over brutal BKFC stoppage
Conor McGregor would face-off with Jeremy Stephens in the BKFC ring and speaking to The Schmo after the event, celebrated his rival’s performance in enemy territory.
“Phenomenal, all the way through he’s been great. You know, he riled up the crowd, came in, got Eddie emotional, it’s worked in the past… Eddie is a true warrior, as tough as it comes. A seasoned veteran. An accomplished fighter, and Jeremy whacked him out of there.
“So that was amazing, very good. Every fight was off the charts, no surprise. Bare Knuckle FC is here to say, 100 percent. Bare Knuckle FC, undeniable.”
At the post-fight press conference, promotion boss Dave Feldman also teased that McGregor had expressed his desire to fight Stephens in his BKFC debut.
Whilst a potential showdown between McGregor and Stephens would be phenomenal to watch, it remains unlikely that the UFC would allow ‘Notorious’ to fight outside their octagon before his current contract expires.
The next BKFC event is scheduled for Saturday, February 1 and will be headlined by Julian Lane vs Cameron VanCamp in what should be another wild night of bare-knuckle action.