Report | Paulie Malignaggi claims that BKFC is preparing an offer for Conor McGregor

According to a report from talkSPORT boxing editor Michael Benson, upstart bare knuckle fighting promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is preparing to make an offer to Conor McGregor.

Benson got this news from retired boxer and new BKFC fighter Paulie Malignaggi, one of McGregor’s chief rivals and the man the promotion allegedly hopes to match the Irishman up with.

Paulie Malignaggi also divulged that he could fight Conor McGregor stablemate Artem Lobov in the BKFC ring this June.

“Told by Paulie Malignaggi that the BKFC are preparing a mega money offer to Conor McGregor for a bare-knuckle boxing match with him,” Benson reported. “He insists they have more money than people think and also confirmed it’s possible he could make his June debut against Artem Lobov.”

While this is a very exciting possibility, the key thing to remember is that Conor McGregor is under contract with the UFC, meaning he can’t simply drop his gloves and go fight for a bareknuckle promotion. Even if BKFC has the bottomless pits of money required to pay McGregor, it’s unlikely the UFC would allow their biggest star to fight for another promotion.

What seems far more likely is that Paulie Malignaggi fights Artem Lobov in June. When Malignaggi signed with BKFC, it was stated explicitly that the intention was for him to battle Lobov sometime later this year — though Lobov’s BKFC 5 fight with Jason Knight could complicate that plan.

Do you think BKFC is really preparing to make Conor McGregor an offer? How do you think the Irish MMA star would perform in a bare knuckle fight?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/17/2019.