Conor McGregor has been making headlines once again—this time for allegedly throwing a couple of punches at a man inside Ibiza’s Pacha Nightclub. While chaos continues to follow ‘The Notorious One,’ his co-owned promotion isn’t staying out of the spotlight either. During the BKFC 76 weigh-ins, Jessica Eye found herself unexpectedly kissed by opponent Maria Agapova, adding another layer of wildness to the buildup. But that’s not the end.
BKFC has been riding a fresh wave of popularity ever since the Irishman came on board as part-owner and front-and-center promoter. The promotion has carved out a space as one of the go-to platforms for fans craving raw, unfiltered combat outside the UFC. Now, with BKFC 76 heading to Texas, the buzz is only growing. The card’s stacked, too, featuring some very familiar faces that’ll turn heads.
Former UFC flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye is set to return to action for the first time since her 2022 loss to Maycee Barber. She’ll take on fellow former UFC fighter Maria Agapova in her debut BKFC 76 clash. Also featured on the card is former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will be making his first appearance as well.
Ahead of fight night, both Jessica Eye and Andrei Arlovski received a motivating message from BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor. The former two-division UFC champ threw his support behind Eye, posting stories on his Instagram account, “Evil Eye with the debut tonight, solid opponent she is up against. Welcome to Bare Knuckle FC.” He also praised Arlovski, writing, “Tonight in Texas, the former UFC heavyweight champion Andre ‘Pitbull’ Arlovski makes his Bare Knuckle debut. A real fighter’s fighter is Pitbull.”
That’s definitely high praise from McGregor, especially with both former UFC fighters making their return to combat sports—this time in one of the most brutal arenas out there. Jessica Eye, having caught wind of the Irishman’s support, didn’t let it go unnoticed either. She returned the admiration, showing appreciation for her former colleague’s words ahead of her bare-knuckle debut.
Jessica Eye Shows love for Conor McGregor after BKFC shoutout
Jessica Eye and Conor McGregor seem to be building more than just mutual respect through their BKFC connection. ‘Evil’ Eye took a moment to share the UFC 257 fight card, where McGregor faced Dustin Poirier for the second time. Ahead of her debut against Maria Agapova, Eye admitted she was genuinely overwhelmed by the Irishman’s support. She also let fans in on an interesting little detail about McGregor
Eye told Bloody Elbow, “It was cool and nice because Conor has seen me throughout all of my career. I’ve been on multiple cards with him. I was in the Boston crowd literally sitting [cageside] when he jumped out at [Jose] Aldo to get him, so it was really awesome.”
The moment Eye talked about was when Conor McGregor fought Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night back in 2015. After scoring the TKO victory, the former two-division champ famously jumped the cage to confront Jose Aldo at the cageside and exchanged a few heated words. ‘Evil Eye’ clearly has the fan memory like many others, proving she’s followed the sport just as passionately as she’s competed in it.
That being said, do you think BKFC is on the rise with former UFC stars like Jessica Eye and Andrei Arlovski now stepping in under the spotlight—and under the leadership of Conor McGregor? Could this be the beginning of something massive for bare-knuckle boxing? Comment down your thoughts below.
The post Conor McGregor Adds to Jessica Eye’s BKFC Kiss Controversy as $411M Co-owner Backs Andre Arlovski’s Return appeared first on EssentiallySports.
