McGregor Has One UFC Fight Left — and BKFC Is Already Calling
GOATIFYConor McGregor’s next move has become a lot easier to understand, even if the date of that move is not. The former two-division UFC champion is still dealing with the fallout from the knee injury that ended his comeback against Max Holloway at UFC 329, but his long-term direction sounds increasingly clear: finish the final obligation on his UFC deal, then explore the bare-knuckle world he has already invested in.
That possibility matters because McGregor has spent more than a decade turning every contractual decision into a combat-sports event. His UFC return was supposed to answer whether he could still compete at the elite level after years away. Instead, the fight ended almost immediately when a jumping attack went wrong and his knee gave out. The injury delayed the competitive answer, but it may have sharpened the business question. If McGregor really has only one UFC bout left, his next appearance could be both a comeback and a farewell.
The injury changed the timeline, not the exit plan
UFC 329 was meant to be a reset. McGregor had not fought in more than five years, and the rematch with Holloway offered a high-profile way back without immediately throwing him into a title fight. Instead, the bout ended in the opening minutes after McGregor injured his knee during an attempted airborne strike. The result left almost everything unresolved: his form, his durability, his ability to handle a modern UFC pace and his place in a division that moved on while he was absent.
What the appearance did accomplish was important from a contractual perspective. It appears to have counted as one of the remaining fights on his UFC agreement, leaving him with a single bout before the next stage of his career can open up. For a normal veteran, that might simply mean negotiating another deal. McGregor is not a normal veteran. He is still one of the few fighters whose name can shift pay-per-view expectations, ticket demand and mainstream attention before an opponent is even announced.
The ACL injury means the final UFC bout cannot be rushed. Rehabilitation now controls the timetable, and a fighter in his late thirties has to think about recovery differently than he did during his championship run. The promotion also has an incentive to make the remaining appearance meaningful. If there is only one contracted fight left, wasting it on a low-stakes matchup would make little business sense for either side.
One UFC fight now carries more weight than a normal comeback
McGregor’s final contracted UFC appearance could become one of the strangest leverage points in recent MMA history. If he returns successfully, he can enter free agency with proof that he is still physically capable of drawing and competing. If he struggles, the commercial value of the name will still be enormous, but the market will view his next venture more as spectacle than championship ambition.
That does not make the final opponent easy to choose. A blockbuster rematch can maximize revenue, but it also carries obvious competitive risk after another major injury. A more manageable matchup protects the comeback but may not justify the attention attached to what could be his UFC finale. The promotion has spent years treating McGregor bouts as destination events, and the possibility of his departure makes the matchmaking even more consequential.
There is also a broader legacy question. McGregor has not recorded a UFC victory since 2020, so another fight gives him a chance to alter the ending of his octagon story. His championship achievements and influence on MMA promotion are already permanent. What remains unsettled is whether his final competitive chapter can produce something more substantial than a sequence of layoffs, injuries and comeback announcements.
The most valuable version of that last UFC fight is therefore one with a clean narrative: a recognizable opponent, enough time for a complete camp and a result that actually tells fans something about where McGregor stands. Anything less risks turning the final contract obligation into paperwork rather than an event.
BKFC would turn free agency into another McGregor spectacle
McGregor has made no secret of his interest in bare-knuckle fighting, and that interest is more than promotional curiosity. He has an investment in BKFC, has repeatedly appeared around the promotion and now speaks about competing there as a genuine post-UFC ambition. That combination makes the route unusually plausible. He would not be arriving as an outsider looking for a payday; he would be a major stakeholder putting his own celebrity directly into the product.
From a business standpoint, the appeal is obvious. Bare-knuckle boxing offers a different kind of spectacle from MMA and could be marketed around McGregor’s boxing identity without requiring him to rebuild toward a UFC ranking. It would also create fresh opponents, fresh event formats and a new promotional environment after years of the same UFC negotiation cycle.
From a competitive standpoint, it is far less simple. Bare-knuckle fighting punishes defensive mistakes quickly, and McGregor’s recent injury history creates questions about how much punishment makes sense at this stage of his career. A move to BKFC would not automatically be an easier version of fighting. It would simply be a different one, with different risks and a format designed around exchanges that can produce cuts and damage in a hurry.
That tension is exactly why the story has so much potential. McGregor has always operated where sport, business and spectacle overlap. One remaining UFC fight creates a clear bridge between eras. First comes the rehabilitation and whatever final octagon matchup the promotion can build. After that, the bare-knuckle door may finally be open.
For now, the most important development is not a date or opponent. It is the shape of the plan. McGregor’s comeback did not go the way he wanted, but the injury has not erased his intention to finish the UFC chapter and move toward something new. If that final contracted fight happens, it may be remembered less as another comeback than as the last UFC stop before the biggest free-agent experiment of his career.
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