Conor McGregor might not be appearing inside the octagon, but he is making quite the statement outside of it. Apart from trying to become Ireland’s president, he is also busy with his ownership of BKFC, UFC’s rival promotion. From taking BKFC to Florence, Italy, for the first time, for a World Cruiserweight Title Fight between Chris Camozzi & Lorenzo Hunt on April 26th, to making an appearance at BKFC Dubai, where there was a fan scuffle, McGregor is on a roll.
However, his experiment with 9-8 Aleksei Oleinik did not go his way. The 61-18-1 MMA record holder was present on Day 1 of BKFC 71 against the Brazilian juggernaut Geronimo Dos Santos. Dos Santos gave an electrifying right hand that left Aleksei Oleinik unconscious. McGregor was shocked as medical staff approached the scene. “Frightening KO! Prayers for recovery.” The Irishman posted on Instagram. However, the good news is that Fedor Emelianenko, ‘The Last Emperor, might join BKFC later.
Amid this incident is another chaos that started brewing recently when McGregor decided to sign Jeff Molina into BKFC. Why is this controversial? Well, Molina bet on Darrick Minner who was his teammate and clashed against Shayilan Nuerdanbiek. But the thing is that Minner was injured before the fight, and Molina did not say anything about it. He was suspended by NSAC for 3 years. McGregor took a turn and signed Molina into Dana White‘s rival promotion but now McGregor might have backtracked a bit.
The official BKFC page stated, “Yesterday’s announcement regarding Jeff Molina’s signing was premature. We respect the ABC’s current suspension and will honor their rules and suspensions.” On top of that, the former dual weight champ retweeted it, saying, “BKFC doesn’t support fight fixing. And neither do I.”
BKFC don’t support fight fixing. And neither do I. pic.twitter.com/tdB3aiH32x
— Dan (@BestFightPicks) April 30, 2025
The $411 million BKFC decided to hire Molina, who was stoked at the opportunity. ‘El Jefe’ revealed his next move. He told famed MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, “Talked with [David] Feldman this morning and I’m stoked. I’ve been to dozens of UFC events, some of the biggest cards. I went to the Sphere Show. I’ve been to probably four or five BKFCs. Nothing compares to BKFC.” Ironically, Molina had criticized the same Conor McGregor who gave him the BKFC opportunity.
Jeff Molina criticized Conor McGregor before getting signed to BKFC
Molina further explained to Helwani, “I’m not just saying that because I’ve recently signed. The entertainment factor is through the roof. There’s nothing more exciting. The experience is super cool. The fights are as raw as I can get.” However, before this whole ordeal, he was suspended by NSAC on the grounds of his betting. However, he did not blame UFC but was not happy with the punishment he received.
Back in March, Molina confessed that he bet on both sides of UFC Vegas 64. He also said that fighters who did illegal stuff generally served their suspension and came back to compete, which is why ‘El Jefe’ thought that he could come back after serving 2.5 years.
He expressed his frustration and said, “Getting a 3-year suspension for continuing to bet two weeks after getting an email that said to stop is insane. McGregor can post his million-dollar bet slip every month on a main event as a fighter on the roster, and no one blinks an eye. Def a double standard there.” However, after his recruitment to BKFC, his viewpoints on McGregor have taken a huge turn. What do you think about the Irishman signing Molina? Tell us your comments down below.
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