Conor McGregor lays out his UFC exit plan: one last fight in the Octagon, then bare-knuckle

Conor McGregor says one more UFC fight remains — then he will lay his gloves down in the Octagon and cross over to bare-knuckle fighting.

Conor McGregor has laid out his exit plan from the UFC — and it ends not with retirement, but with a move to bare-knuckle fighting.

Speaking in Rome on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, as a guest at Hype Italy's HYPE Fighting Championship, McGregor said he plans one more fight under his UFC contract, then to lay his gloves down in the Octagon and cross over to bare-knuckle. Outlets called it a hot-mic moment, though they also describe the exchange as an interview.

Asked whether he prefers MMA or bare-knuckle fighting, McGregor came down firmly for the latter. "I really enjoy bare-knuckle fighting. I don't think there is any chance of a boring fight in bare-knuckle." Good MMA is hard to beat, he conceded, but: "bare-knuckle is very exciting, very dangerous, and it takes more courage."

Pressed on whether he would compete in a bare-knuckle bout himself, he was direct: "I'm looking forward to a bare-knuckle fight myself." Asked about the chances of him fighting bare-knuckle after his MMA career, he answered: "Big chance. Big chance!"

Then came the line framing the plan. McGregor said he will lay his gloves down in the Octagon for his final UFC contract fight — not to retire, but to announce his next move. "I'm going to lay down my gloves in that Octagon for my final UFC contract (fight), but not to retire—to announce bare-knuckle. Teeth come and go, just like a nose, it means nothing." It is an end to his UFC and MMA career, not an end to fighting.

McGregor has one fight remaining on his UFC contract, by his own account; the UFC has never publicly confirmed that detail. Earlier that week, he had already said his next appearance would be his final UFC fight, calling his comeback his "final fight" and "last dance" with the promotion.

The target for that final UFC fight is International Fight Week in July 2027. That is a target only, not a booked date: no opponent, date or venue is set, and the timeline depends on his recovery. EssentiallySports infers he will be done with the UFC for good after his next bout, with no contract extension on the table — the outlet's inference, not his words.

He named no bare-knuckle promotion in Rome. He said "bare-knuckle"; the destination is the outlets' identification. McGregor became a co-owner of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in 2024, making it, in MMA Mania's words, his most obvious destination. BKFC president David Feldman has said he would "bet the house" McGregor eventually competes for the promotion, if he comes through his final UFC fight without another significant injury. That is a prediction, not a booking, and McGregor gave no calendar date for a bare-knuckle debut.

All of it depends on his knee. After a five-year layoff, McGregor returned on 11 July 2026 at UFC 329 against old rival Max Holloway, and the comeback lasted 69 seconds: he tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee on an opening kick and lost by first-round TKO. He had surgery and is in rehab, sidelined until at least next summer, with no return date set. McGregor says he is "ahead of the curve"; trainer John Kavanagh said MMA-type training resumes next year at the earliest, and UFC CEO Dana White said talks wait until a doctor clears him to train full-time.

McGregor, 38, is a former two-division UFC champion, 22-7 in MMA, 10-5 in the UFC, winless since stopping Donald Cerrone in 2020. If his plan holds, his next win will not come in the Octagon at all — it will come with bare knuckles.