BKFC founder Dave Feldman has said Conor McGregor’s bare-knuckle debut ultimately hinges on his UFC finale.McGregor, a minority owner of BKFC, confirmed this week he will take off his gloves to make a bare-knuckle switch after seeing out his UFC contract next year.McGregor lost his UFC comeback in July after just 69 seconds and is expected to make his final appearance for the promotion next summerGettyAfter five years out, McGregor had a nightmare return to competition against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in July, injuring his knee in the opening exchange and losing after just 69 seconds.The Irishman suffered a torn ACL and meniscus damage in his right knee during the bout and is currently recovering from surgery and rehab.McGregor wants to contest his final UFC fight during the promotion’s International Fight Week in July 2027, having already called out Holloway for a trilogy.He is then expected to enter the four-roped bare-knuckle ring for his next appearance under the BKFC banner.However, ahead of BKFC 96 in Glasgow this weekend, Feldman has revealed a crucial condition for McGregor to make the transition.McGregor needs big final UFC fight to make BKFC debut“Obviously he has to look good in this [next UFC] fight,” the BKFC founder, who has spearheaded the promotion from near-bankruptcy to a value of over $400million in the last eight years, told talkSPORT.com.“That’s a big key. If something crazy happened, like what happened in his last fight, then I don’t think a lot of people would be excited.“But if he comes out there and has a good fight, a very good fight, win or lose doesn’t matter, everybody’s going to be excited about Conor McGregor taking his gloves off.”Feldman continued: “He knows it too. He has to have a good showing. He has to have a good showing for himself, right?“If he doesn’t have a good showing for himself, he’s not going to want to do this.McGregor has been at the centre of several BFKC events since becoming a co-owner in 2024Getty“So there’s so much banking on this. I know that he got the surgery done. I know he got rehab done on the other knee too.“His legs are almost in tip-top condition now. So I think he’s in great shape to make that comeback.”Feldman said there have been no talks yet with McGregor for his BKFC debut.He made it clear negotiations won’t begin until after his final UFC fight, as he would never do anything to break his relationship with Dana White‘s promotion.“He has to get through this fight first, and that’s a big undertaking for him,” Feldman said.“He has to get back in training, get himself zoned, get himself focused and get ready for this big, big fight that he has as his last fight with the UFC.Negotiations will only begin for McGregor’s bare-knuckle debut once he has contested his final UFC fightGetty“So once he does that, then the talks are going to really start about where, what makes sense, what opponent makes sense.”Garcia, Mayweather and Benn dream opponents for McGregorFeldman did, however, note McGregor’s opponent is unlikely to come against anyone on the current roster.In a dream world, Feldman would have McGregor up against Ryan Garcia, Floyd Mayweather or Conor Benn.McGregor made his professional boxing debut against Mayweather in 2017.Mayweather has since contested a plethora of exhibition bouts while planning meetings with names like Manny Pacquiao and Mike Tyson.“If I could have anybody – this fight probably isn’t going to happen as they’re business partners – but Conor against Ryan Garcia would be a huge, huge fight in bare-knuckle,” Feldman concluded.Feldman believes Mayweather would be interested in running it back with McGregor at BKFCGetty“Conor against Conor Benn in the UK would be unbelievable. Like, there’s a lot of different possibilities out there.“And look, Conor McGregor fought a very good fight against Floyd Mayweather for not having boxing experience.“Had that been a bare-knuckle fight where there was clinching and different things involved, that could have been a different ending.“That fight there could make a lot of sense too, and Floyd Mayweather would be up for something like that — I know he would.“So what I’m going to say is it’s going to be something very, very big.“It wouldn’t be something small. It wouldn’t be like he just fights a current BKFC roster guy. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.“It would have to be a huge, huge name and one for him to get motivated from. But also for me, as a company and going out to raise the money to be able to do that thing.“I think a big, big name makes a lot of sense, and there’s going to be no shortage of very big names that want to come into this.”BKFC 96 in Glasgow nextBKFC 96, headlined by Sean Weir’s UK light heavyweight title fight against Leigh Cohoon, takes place on Saturday at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/BKFC96?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe card also features the return of WWE superstar-turned-bare-knuckle boxer Gzim Selmani, while Glasgow’s own MMA veteran Stevie Ray makes his debut.