The internet loves a spectacle, and Meghan “The Witch” O’Neill delivered exactly that at Friday’s BKFC Derby weigh-ins. Dressed head to toe in black with pale makeup and a full vampire aesthetic, O’Neill commanded attention as she stepped onto the scale at 109.6 pounds for her bare knuckle debut against Terri Diamond, who weighed in at 107.6 pounds.
According to reports, O’Neill isn’t your typical combat sports crossover story. The 115-pound star earns over £10,000 monthly as a model, making her Ireland’s second-ever female BKFC competitor and the first from Northern Ireland.
Her body is covered in tattoos representing figures from mythology including Lilith, Hécate, Callie, and Medusa. For O’Neill, embracing the “witch” persona represents something deeper than ring psychology.
“Whenever my sisters were burnt at the stake, I feel that ancestral rage inside me. I feel it for my sisters that were murdered because they were deemed witches. They were not allowed to be who they wanted to be. I would be burned at the stake for what I do if it was all those years ago. So for me, claiming the witch is saying a massive F* you to everybody that burned my sisters at the stake. And I’m very much reclaiming that sort of what was deemed horrible,” she explained.
Behind the theatrical presentation sits legitimate athletic credentials. O’Neill holds Irish powerlifting records for her weight division and possesses a degree in philosophy and psychology. She openly admits to using mental warfare as part of her strategy, claiming her opponent would already be “questioning herself” before entering the ring.
“I’m very good at mind games. You know, my degree’s in psychology. I know how to get into my opponent’s mind. And I will ruin her life before we get into that ring. You know, she’ll be questioning herself before we get into that ring,” O’Neill stated confidently during fight week.
Her path to bare knuckle came through dissatisfaction with traditional boxing. After two previous boxing matches, including one against an opponent significantly larger and taller, O’Neill found the sport too restrictive for her taste.
“Boxing was never enough for me. You know, I’m extreme. I have to be one or the other. I want to be hurt, you know? I want my opponent to hurt me. I want blood,” she said, explaining her transition to the more brutal format of bare knuckle competition.
The weigh-in performance generated massive attention online, with the face-off video accumulating nearly 6 million views across social media platforms. The theatrical approach was entirely intentional.
“The Megan O’Neill brand is very controversial, spicy, you know, out there. And the reason I use the yin-yang symbol is because I am what I believe is the true balance of good and bad. You know, I have this really beautiful mothering, nurturing side. And then on the other side, you know, I have that real dark, chaotic sense about me, and that’s why I’m called witch. So it comes into play. There’s both of it and it balances each other,” O’Neill described.
That nurturing side includes being a single mother to two children while maintaining careers across multiple industries and planning to pursue a PhD in psychology while writing a book on mental resilience.
But Saturday’s reality proved far different from the pre-fight confidence. When the bell rang at Vaillant Live in Derby, O’Neill moved forward aggressively in black and pink. Diamond, representing England in white trunks, immediately established control with superior clinch work.
The fight commentary told the story: “Diamond just appears to be the stronger fighter at this point, manhandling O’Neill in the clinch.” Diamond landed heavy right uppercuts and left hands on the inside while controlling O’Neill with a half-plumb clinch position.
The end came quickly. Big right hands followed by a left uppercut sent O’Neill to the canvas. She shook her head, but referee Stephen Joachim had seen enough. Diamond secured a first-round TKO victory in her own BKFC debut.
The result shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with combat sports. Viral attention and psychological warfare can only take a fighter so far when the bell rings. O’Neill’s powerlifting background and mental preparation couldn’t overcome Diamond’s technical advantages and physical strength in the clinch.
The theatrics worked perfectly for generating interest. The actual contest revealed what many suspected: transitioning from modeling and social media fame to professional combat sports requires more than personality and mind games. It demands time, technical development, and experience that can’t be manufactured through mystique alone.
O’Neill’s debut landed on the preliminary card of BKFC Fight Night Derby, which streamed via the official BKFC mobile application. The 11-fight event featured Conor Cooke versus Anthony Holmes for the vacant BKFC UK Light Heavyweight Championship in the main event.
