Bare Knuckle Star Ben Rothwell Says Conor McGregor Ownership Huge For BKFC

Conor McGregor is now part owner of BKFC, and star bare-knuckle fighter Ben Rothwell couldn't be more excited ... telling TMZ Sports the move is a huge coup for the promotion!

42-year-old Rothwell, 3-0 in BKFC, had no idea the huge announcement was coming, saying, "I got told with all of you and I was just excited. I'm more excited, I think, than most people. It was awesome to see all the media and everything talked about. It was all BKFC, Conor McGregor. It's awesome for us."

Ben continued ... "For me, I know what this means. I know where we're going to go with this. And I just couldn't be more excited to be a part of this right now."

So, what does it mean?

"I think a significant amount of eyes and awareness. It's just BKFC is just going to continue to explode around the world."

Of course, if anyone understands fighting, it's Rothwell. Before joining BKFC in mid-2022, he fought in the UFC for nearly a decade. Ben has 53 professional MMA fights under his belt, including wins over Ovince St. Preux, Stefan Struve, Josh Barnett, and Alistair Overeem, among others.

Although never at this level, Conor's been involved with BKFC in the past. He once confronted the promotion's biggest star, Mike Perry, in the ring after Platinum won a fight.

With McGregor's announcement over the weekend, many fans began to question whether The Notorious would take a BKFC fight in the future.

We asked Ben if he could ever see that happening.

"You know, [Conor] doesn't have to fight now, but he is. So, the man's a fighter. You know what I mean? So, I think it's always on the table," Rothwell explained, saying he could see it happening after McGregor fulfills his UFC contract.