‘The Witch’ Meghan O’Neill strolled onto the BKFC stage at Friday’s Derby weigh-ins with the kind of presence that doesn’t require an introduction. She’s the woman everyone’s got an opinion about, dressed in full black, pale makeup, and an unmistakable vampire, goth aesthetic that had social media users divided faster than you can throw a punch.
‘The Witch’ Meghan O’Neill Sports Vampire, Goth Aesthetic
The Northern Irish fighter clocked in at 109.6 pounds for her showdown against fellow debutant Terri Diamond (107.6 pounds) on December 13th at Vaillant Live in Derby. She is a full crossover personality who balances two entirely different industries. She’s a model earning over £10,000 monthly, a former glamour model, and now Ireland’s second-ever female BKFC fighter – the first from Northern Ireland.
She’s covered in tattoos representing the feminine divine that the patriarchy spent centuries trying to burn out of existence, Lilith, Hécate, Callie, Medusa. For her, claiming the witch label is an ancestral reclamation, a middle finger to everyone who deemed powerful women demonic. When she walks into a weigh-in wearing all black with pale makeup designed to evoke something otherworldly, it’s part of the package. It’s calculated chaos wrapped in legitimate fighting credentials.
Images courtesy of BKFC.
The reality beneath the theatrics is where things get interesting. O’Neill holds Irish powerlifting records for her weight division. Her degree is in philosophy and psychology, which she uses weaponized against opponents. She’s openly stated she specializes in mind games, getting into her opponent’s head before she even throws a punch. During her face-off with Diamond, she explained that she’d already be “questioning herself” before stepping through the ropes.
“Boxing was never extreme 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.”
BKFC Derby
She has already had two boxing matches. The first was against an opponent two stone heavier and a foot taller, a mismatch she fought anyway because she wanted to test herself. The second lasted roughly a minute, stopped in the first round. Neither fight hurt her. She wasn’t satisfied. Boxing felt too restricted, too controlled. Bare knuckle, by contrast, promised the extremism she craves. She’s described herself as extreme by nature.
O’Neill’s debut takes place today, Saturday, December 13th, 2025, on the BKFC Fight Night Derby card at Vaillant Live in Derby, United Kingdom. The countdown show begins at 1 pm ET/10 am PT on YouTube, with the fights themselves kicking off at 2 pm ET/11 am PT. O’Neill and Diamond are scheduled for the preliminary card, with the entire 11-fight slate available via the official BKFC mobile application. The main event features Conor Cooke versus Anthony Holmes in a vacant BKFC UK Light Heavyweight Championship matchup.
“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’s a single mum to two kids who gets up every morning pouring everything into them while somehow maintaining a full career across two industries. She doesn’t date. She doesn’t drink. She’s writing a book on mental resilience and planning to pursue a PhD in psychology.
“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.”
The weigh-in outfit choice itself, the all-black ensemble, the vampire, goth aesthetic, and the pale makeup are intentional showmanship. Social media couldn’t stop talking about it, which was precisely the point.
“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.”
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