Bare-knuckle boxer retires after suffering gruesome injury in KO loss on Conor McGregor’s BKFC
Bare-knuckle boxing pioneer Connor Tierney has hung up his wraps after suffering a horrific broken jaw on Saturday night.
‘The Brum Town Bomber’ headlined a packed-out Utilita Arena in his hometown of Birmingham against fierce rival Rico Franco for the BKFC European welterweight title.
When the sporting greats first locked horns back in 2019, Franco rendered Tierney unconscious inside the opening stanza.
And when they ran it back seven years later, Franco repeated his heroics, albeit one round later.
‘Bon Bon’ decked Tierney five times en route to the eventual knockout, which came one minute and 17 seconds into round two.
However, it appears that the first knockdown was caused by an accidental clash of heads rather than a punch.
Tierney was spitting blood after the collision, and it quickly became clear that his jaw was compromised.
Regardless, the brave Brummie marched forward undeterred and repeatedly picked himself up off the canvas until he couldn’t stand anymore.
Tierney has since taken to social media to confirm that his jaw has been broken in two places, spelling the end of his glittering career.
Connor Tierney bids farewell to bare-knuckle boxing
“Farewell, Bareknuckle,” read a post from the 31-year-old, accompanied by some grisly videos of his mangled jaw.
“As I write this, I’m stuck in the QE hospital with a broken jaw in 2 places, and with time to reflect in a short amount of time, I just want to say I’m sorry to everyone who supported me.
“I was flat the whole night, and I just couldn’t get locked in.
“I thought I could, but I think the occasion got to me. My goal in Bareknuckle was to bring the city together and become a star in combat sports.
“I achieved that, and despite the loss, I’ve had so many great memories in this sport, I’ve met so many great people, too.
“On reviewing the footage, I got caught with a headbutt and done my jaw, rolled my ankle and just could not work with it, but it is what it is, that’s life.
“Sometimes you take risks, and god has other plans. Natalie, my partner, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have made it to where I am now, and Simon Haycock, my coach, was there for me through thick and thin. A great coach and person.
” I managed to achieve so much in this short time frame, but I fell at the hurdle I always dreaded I could not fall at. I feel that it’s time for me to call it a day.
“I’m so truly blessed with the career I’ve had. I nearly got the blues, ground I was so close, but I just wasn’t good enough!
“And I have missed so much time being a dad and a Fiancè I’ve loved every minute of this career; it’s been a fantastic journey, credit to Rico and his team, a tough man who dealt me 2 bad losses.
“Think I’m gonna spend some time healing and start enjoying my life without Bareknuckle now, as this is my farewell to the game.
“Thank you for all being a part of it. Thank you to all those who have supported me over the years.”
What did Connor Tierney achieve in bare-knuckle boxing?
Tierney can look back at his bare-knuckle boxing career with pride.
After his first defeat to Franco, Tierney rebounded to win BKB’s one-night prizefighter in 2020 before scooping the BKB middleweight world title one year later at the height of lockdown.
He eventually parted with the British promotional outfit and signed with Conor McGregor‘s BKFC, where he carved out another successful run, picking up the BKFC UK welterweight crown.
If his second loss to Franco does prove to be Tierney’s final fight, then his record will forever read 9-3 (4KOs).
Along the way, he defeated many notable names, including BKFC world title challenger Danny Christie, BKFC UK lightweight champion Jonny Graham and multi-weight BKB world titlist James Connelly (twice).
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