Female IBF Bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges has spoken about her relationship with UFC star Conor McGregor ahead of her next fight.
Australian Bridges makes her return to the boxing ring on December 9 to fight fellow Aussie Avril Mathie.
Speaking to Best Gambling Sites, Bridges said: “I love having Conor in my corner, I love having his support. I've always had his support, even before I won a world title, he’s always supported and encouraged me to keep being me and doing what I'm doing. It’s been great.
Read MoreJohn Kavanagh says he was concerned for Conor McGregor's mental health as he details further setback
“And having his and the [Forged Stout] team’s support has been even better. We’re growing our friendship even more which is good and he's very inspiring and I think anyone would wish to be in my shoes.”
Bridges reveals that their relationship benefits both of them individually.
“He uses me for clout really,” she continued.
“He's sponsoring me to get his brand out. That's what sponsors do. We met at the AJ fight and I wore his brand there because he's using me to get his brand out.
“Otherwise he'd be wearing a stout shirt. But we work together because he knows - me and him - will get people talking about his brand. It's not that I need him, but we both help each other out, we are both an asset to each other's brands, we both help build each other, it's not one-sided. They reached out to me, it wasn't me chasing them.”
“Obviously being attached to one of the biggest sports people in the world, one of the most recognisable names in the world, being attached to that is obviously going to grow my exposure, it’s going get me more fans, it’s going to get me more subscriptions to my OnlyFans.
“More followers on my Instagram and in the end more money. And in turn, we will both grow from it. It’s a positive in many ways. But I get more hate as well.”
Bridges faces a stern test from 36-year-old Mathie when the two meet in just under a month.
“She's a good opponent for me; she's going to give me work, she's going to be tough, she's got the skills and the heart. But I'm more clever and stronger, but it's going to be a good fight for the fans.
“And I like her - and I like to give opportunities to people that I like - she's good people and she works hard and if I'm going to give someone exposure then it's going to be someone I like. Not some f****wit that's calling me out and calling me names.
“There's heaps of fighters doing this, but that's not the way to go about it with me. Why would I give someone a payday if they're being a d***? I'd rather help my friend. Avril and I are good friends. We talk a lot. We are very similar. But when we go through the ropes we are not friends, she's in the way of my goals and my only thought will be to destroy and get rid of them.
Bridges says there are plenty of similarities between the pair but they both have their heads switched on.
“Avril and I both get judged on how we look. She's a swimwear model and I'm always getting called a model. She gets overlooked and underestimated because she's pretty and she's a model but she's been boxing longer than me.
“She moved over to America to follow her dreams and people look at her and right her off. She also does OnlyFans, she gets it. It's all about being seen, and she has a huge following and she's smart. Our brains are very much the same.
“This will be a showcase of two pretty girls that you right off - because of the modelling or because of the boobs - but we fight and we do come to fight. The way we look doesn't mean we don't take the sport seriously.
“Just because she wears a bikini and I wear lingerie does mean we don’t take the sport seriously. And it will bring more eyes to the sport because people will want to watch pretty girls fight. They're going to see she can fight and she's tough and having Only Fans and implants has nothing to do with being able to fight.”
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
