Jeremy Stephens was always open to UFC reunion, especially if he could finally fight ‘cocaine Conor McGregor’

Jeremy Stephens left the UFC on good terms but there was still shock and awe that he was suddenly returning to his old stomping grounds for a fight against Mason Jones at the upcoming UFC Des Moines card on May 2.

Now fighting in his home state of Iowa makes sense but Stephens is fresh off a massive win over ex-UFC champion Eddie Alvarez in BKFC and it appeared his future was set as a bare-knuckle fighter. That all changed on Thursday when Stephens was suddenly back on the UFC roster but he never discounted that possible reunion — even after he shattered Alvarez’s jaw back in January.

Just a couple of days removed from that fight, Stephens told MMA Fighting he was open to returning to the UFC, especially if there was a chance that he could eventually lead to a fight against Conor McGregor.

“I’ve got opportunities maybe go in the UFC, fighting Conor over there, BKFC, he’s an owner over there,” Stephens said back in January. “I put myself in this f*cking moment. I risked it all on me. I manifested this. I turned a delusion into reality. There’s no one else hotter and more deserving right now than Jeremy Stephens, the f*cking killer heathen.

“I told motherf*ckers, you throw a dart in middle of the U.S., the 505, it lands in Des Moines, Iowa, the heart that pumps this nation and I’m all f*cking heart. No one’s got more heart than me.”

Stephens knew was in a perfect position to capitalize on a huge opportunity following that win over Alvarez because he wasn’t locked down in a long-term contract.

While returning to the UFC doesn’t mean he’ll never fight in BKFC again, Stephens recognized this possibility existed because for all the ways he’s enjoyed his time competing in bare-knuckle and even boxing, his roots always go back to mixed martial arts.

“I’m a free agent. I could do one fight in the UFC,” Stephens said. “[Conor McGregor is] over in BKFC as a part owner. That’s delusion into reality. When we locked eyes, the eyes they never lie. That’s a real f*cking quote. I’ve been saying that all day. I will always say that.”

Just moments after he beat Alvarez to claim arguably one of the biggest wins of his career, Stephens ended up staring down McGregor in the ring with the Irish superstar promising that they’d meet one day in the future with no gloves on.

McGregor, who became a part-owner in BKFC in 2024, has vowed time and time again that he plans to eventually crossover into bare-knuckle fighting but with two bouts still remaining on his UFC contract, that almost assuredly has to happen first.

That’s why Stephens didn’t discount a possible return to the UFC with hopes that he might get the chance to welcome McGregor back to the cage following a four-year-long layoff after suffering a devastating broken leg in his last appearance back in 2021.

“He’s having fun. ‘Cocaine Conor,’ he’s having fun,” Stephens said. “He’s promoting. He’s not getting emotionally attached. I can tell when I look in a motherf*cker’s eye. He was submissive reaching out his hand already when we lock [eyes]. He’s just here for promotion. He really wants to probably be fighting. He’s making f*cking millions. Look at the eyes, they’re not lying. I’m in the opportunity, I ain’t no Logan Paul, I ain’t no Jake Paul. I clearly don’t do the numbers that they do but I’m the more f*cking scary, violent dude.

“I can do MMA as well. Conor can get around these boxers and he almost breaks them because he can just kick them, take them down, and strangle the f*ck out of them. You can’t do that with another man in me like that, bro. I can calf-kick. I can break your f*cking wimpy ass f*cking legs. I have knockout power. I know and I’ve been certain of [it].”

The history between the fighters dates back to an infamous interaction at the UFC 205 press conference in 2016 when Stephens piped up that he was the real hardest-hitting featherweight after McGregor was asked about the most dangerous opponent on stage with him.

McGregor responded by saying “Who the f*ck is that guy?” and the New York City crowd ripped up in laughter and applause.

Ever since then, Stephens has been circling a potential showdown against McGregor and now that he’s back in the UFC, that might finally be a real possibility.

“People are like ‘you really think you can beat Conor?’ He’s a f*cking human being,” Stephens said. “Like yeah, I know I can. Now in this day and age, ‘Cocaine Conor,’ I’ll f*cking knock him out. In bare knuckle, it would even be worse for him.

“But I’m that dude, I can actually go over to UFC, fight one fight over there if that was the way it played out. Delusions into reality, right? It’s opportunity. Now it’s not too far away.”

Not long after signing to return to the UFC, Stephens once again heated up his rivalry with McGregor by sending a message to “The Notorious” to remind him that their business is far from finished.

“BKFC, UFC, Conor McGregor you cannot run from me,” Stephens wrote on Twitter. “I will find you and I will kill you boy! Your time is up, I got you a front row seat in Iowa, too. Wells Fargo event center, my hometown. Watch me break another jaw.”