Conor McGregor has always shown appreciation for fighters, especially those from his home country who make waves in the MMA scene. Remember Artem Lobov? ‘The Notorious One’ joined TUF Season 22 as the opposing coach to Urijah Faber and also went to war with Khabib Nurmagomedov over Lobov. Even though ‘The Russian Hammer’ eventually sued McGregor, it’s clear the Irishman always stood by his teammates and had their backs. 

This time is no different. When one of his fellow countrymen showcased true martial arts valor at Ilia Topuria’s co-owned WOW FC on June 7th, the biggest MMA superstar in the world couldn’t hold back his admiration. McGregor was so impressed by the performance that he believes the Irish fighter might just be ready for the UFC.

Conor McGregor praises Nikolay Grozdev for his performance at WOW FC 

Nikolay Grozdev, the Moldovan-Irish fighter from Conor McGregor’s gym, SBG Ireland, faced Ignacio Campos at WOW 20 in Spain. Known for his strong wrestling and eight submission wins, Grozdev surprised everyone by knocking out Campos in the fourth round to win the WOW Vacant Featherweight Championship. That knockout was enough for ‘The Notorious’ to believe his teammate is ready to take on the UFC stage.

WOW FC, a rising European MMA promotion co-owned by UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, has quickly become a spotlight platform for emerging talent across the continent.

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Reacting to the finish, ‘The Notorious One’ shared the fight’s highlight on his Instagram Story and wrote, “Glorious performance here! Real substance to every move. Congrats Nic, best to date.” He followed that with a simple, confident message tagging the UFC’s official account: “@ufc Ready.”

Conor McGregor and Nikolay Grozdev have long been training partners. The Moldovan-Irish fighter was even part of the coaching staff for McGregor’s return at UFC 243 against Donald Cerrone, alongside head coach John Kavanagh, Owen Roddy, and Dillon Danis. Now sitting at 10-2 in professional MMA, it wouldn’t be surprising to see ‘Slick Nick’ make his UFC debut sooner rather than later.

However, that wasn’t the only reaction the former UFC double champ had in store. His promotion, BKFC, also hosted an event over the weekend. And another brutal knockout there caught his attention, too. So, let’s take a look at what went down.

McGregor reacts to crazy BKFC 75 knockout

Conor McGregor might not be showing up at every event for his co-owned promotion, but his reactions from the sidelines have built a fanbase of their own. At BKFC 74, he celebrated Josh Dyer’s win over Mike Richman with an Instagram story that even included a jab at Mike Perry. This time, he reacted to a vicious 5th-round knockout by debuting star Bobby Henry at BKFC 75.

‘The Notorious One’ reacted from his bedside, “Bang, get out of the way referee. He was awake and asleep at the same time, show me that knockout again. What a f—  knockout. Look at the crafted reply. You really are not getting that anywhere else.”

American fighter Bobby Henry, also known as ‘Heavy Hands,’ has been making serious waves in the pro boxing scene. Undefeated in his boxing career, Henry carried that momentum into his BKFC debut—and didn’t disappoint. Interestingly, his opponent Kasey Yates stood in stark contrast. With an 0-4 MMA record and no wins in either boxing or bare-knuckle bouts.