Conor McGregor signs deal to become part-owner of BARE KNUCKLE boxing promotion ahead of his UFC return

Conor McGregor made his part ownership of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship official by signing his contract on Thursday.

The former two-division UFC champion welcomed BKFC president David Feldman at his Black Forge Inn in Dublin as McGregor ceremoniously signed on the dotted line.

In a video posted on Feldman and the promotion's Instagram, McGregor excitingly put the pen on his deal, saying: 'Rocket to the moon, brother. Take off the gloves and fight b****.'

After The Notorious inked his signature, the pair locked in a handshake and posed for pictures.

'Time to take this thing to the stratosphere,' Feldman captioned with a rocket emoji. '@TheNotoriousMMA is all in.'

The Irishman announced his latest venture in a video during BKFC's KnuckleMania 4 card in Los Angeles on April 27. The new deal puts McGregor Sports and Entertainment as a part owner of the promotion, with Triller continuing to hold majority shares in BKFC.

Feldman memorably invited McGregor to one of his cards in 2023 - which ended with an impromptu faceoff with BKFC star Mike Perry after his knockout over Luke Rockhold.

Since its founding in 2018, the controversial promotion has attracted other former UFC stars, including Eddie Alvarez, Chad Mendes, and Paige VanZant.

While his investment in bare-knuckle combat adds to McGregor's business portfolio, his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon has been announced for UFC 303 on June 29.

After over a year of negotiations and hanging his biggest star's return over fans' heads, UFC chief Dana White announced McGregor's fight against Michael Chandler after UFC 300 in April. McGregor has not seen action in MMA since breaking his tibia against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

McGregor has two fights left in his UFC contract. With the fight against Iron Mike scheduled, he expressed wanting to close his trilogy against Nate Diaz in the future.

Unfortunately, that may prove challenging after the Stockton native stepped away from the organization in 2022 to pursue boxing.

Having teased BKFC's fanbase last year, McGregor said he wanted to compete in a bare-knuckle fight at some point in his career. Whether he steps into their ring as a competitor or not, Feldman expressed his excitement about McGregor's involvement in the organization.

'Look, you've got the biggest guy in all of combat sports right now as a part owner of our company,' Feldman said during the KnuckleMania 4 broadcast. 'I think it's just going to move the needle tremendously. We're going to do a lot of big things. We're going to open up a lot of new markets.

'Look, we're partners with Conor McGregor,' Feldman continued. 'Everybody in the combat sports world, everybody in the world knows who that guy is. So Conor, thank you, and let's blow this s**t up.'