BARE-KNUCKLE boxer Connor Tierney was left unrecognisable after a brutal fight left him battered and bruised.
Tierney faced Jonny Graham in a welterweight title bout in Coventry.
And the Birmingham brawler walked away with the belt after five hellish rounds which saw both men floored.
But Tierney took the decision and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship belt.
And he had the battle scars to prove it after posing from hospital with both eyes gruesomely swollen and cut up.
His thriller was hailed by UFC legend Conor McGregor – who is a part-owner of BKFC.
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McGregor posted online: “WHAT A FIGHT!”
The Irishman himself has even hinted at crossing over from the cage to the ring to fight with exposed fists.
McGregor, 36, said: “For me, I’ve got a bit of business left with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, two fights left on my contract.
“But for sure we have three lightweights up here and I have my eye on all of this.
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“I’m not here up here just as a knower, player-manager I’d title myself on this.”
McGregor was due to return on June 29 against Michael Chandler, 38, but he was forced to pull out with a foot injury.
The UFC are believed to be eyeing a date in December to reschedule McGregor’s overdue comeback bout.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
