Conor McGregor’s marquee BKFC 81 event kept the crowd inside the AO Arena entertained. Throughout the night, Manchester combat sports fans got to witness some truly violent scraps. However, the event itself was far from smooth. A few hiccups turned some heads. Still, expectations were high for the Matty Floyd vs James DeGale headliner, which became the most controversial bout of the night.

The Aussie boxer and the Brit showed their bad intentions from the very first minute of the first round. Floyd, in particular, proved highly aggressive with volume, but his opponent was slightly more precise. By the end of the round, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say it was decently competitive, with neither fighter holding a clear advantage. However, the fight became even more interesting in the second round.

After the intense opening round, the Aussie bike rider turned boxer headbutted James DeGale, forcing the referee to intervene and separate them. But that’s not all. As the action moved forward into the later rounds, more chaos followed. Then came the illegal strikes and a 4-point deduction, which completely killed the momentum.

Add to the illegal strikes the many stops and breaks the referee had to call because of constant clinching, we have a lackluster main event that did not carry the momentum it started off with. Still, Biritsh fans can rejoice that their man got his hand raised in the end.

This is a developing story…