War?! Legendary Muay Thai Fighter Challenges ‘Notorious’

Conor McGregor is still a wanted man … in and out of the Octagon.

As the world awaits McGregor’s return to combat sports action, “The Notorious” has remained present around the fight scene, attending events as recently as the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match two weekends ago (Oct. 28, 2023). Perhaps the most notable of McGregor’s antics away from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) came at BKFC 41 in April 2023.

The Irishman entered the bare-knuckle boxing ring after Mike Perry’s technical knockout win over Luke Rockhold (watch highlights) to face off with “Platinum” and tease a crossover bout. That hasn’t and likely won’t happen anytime soon, but it hasn’t stopped recent BKFC fighter and Muay Thai legend, Buakaw Banchamek, from calling for a dream fight with McGregor.

“I’ve told BKFC I’d fight absolutely anyone under this new rule set, but it has to be a big name,” Buakaw said (h/t BeyondKickboxing). “I’m ready to go to war with anyone. I want someone to really test me. My ultimate fight would be against Conor McGregor in a bare-knuckle Thai fight, but I wonder if McGregor would even take a fight like that against me. I doubt it.”

The iconic Buakaw, 41, is a veteran of over 250 professional Muay Thai bouts, holding a record of 240-24-14, 2 no contests in pure Muay Thai. His BKFC debut came in a new concept of bare-knuckle Muay Thai against his fellow icon, Saenchai, where he won a unanimous decision at BKFC Thailand 5 last weekend (Nov. 4, 2023). As for McGregor, he hasn’t fought since a July 2021 first round technical knockout loss to Dustin Poirier (watch highlights).

“I really appreciated the opportunity to fight such a high-level opponent, but at the same time he’s my friend,” Buakaw said of his Saenchai fight. “We both fought hard and put our friendship aside for the fight because we’re professionals, but after the fight, I was glad it was over. It has been a great journey working with BKFC on this event and I’m really pleased they were able to make it happen.”