Conor McGregor Arrested, Charged After Bus Attack

Conor McGregor isn’t The Notorious for nothing. On Thursday, though, he took that monicker to its worst level.

McGregor and some of his SBG Ireland teammates crashed the UFC 223 media event by forcing their way to the Barclays Center with the help of members from McGregor’s MacLife.com who were credentialed media for the event. Upon gaining access to the building, the group stormed the backstage area, where a bus full of UFC fighters was set to leave the venue. Then all hell broke loose.

Mac Attack

In one video, McGregor was seen picking up a guardrail and running with it, apparently trying to throw it at the departing bus. When he was restrained from throwing the guardrail, McGregor appeared like he was looking for something else to hurl at the bus. In another piece of footage, McGregor grabbed a dolly and threw it into the bus, smashing one of its windows.

In the aftermath, two UFC fighters who were inside the bus got injured. Lightweight Michael Chiesa was taken to a hospital after suffering several cuts to his face. Later in the day, flyweight Ray Borg also went to a hospital after having vision problems from what was thought to be pieces of glass from the window that McGregor broke.

Chiesa and Borg were supposed to fight at the undercard of UFC 223 on Saturday night, but as a result, both fighters have been pulled out of the event because of their injuries. A third fighter, Artem Lobov, who was with McGregor when the incident happened, was also removed from his bout with Alex Caceres at UFC 223.

Under Police Custody

McGregor turned himself over to the police on Thursday night, and an investigation was underway. The Irishman was later charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief. His SBG teammate Cian Cowley was also charged with one count of assault and one count of criminal mischief. McGregor was seen leaving a New York police station on Friday and driven to a courtroom where he will face arraignment on the charges filed against him.

Aside from possible legal punishment, McGregor is likely going to be penalized by his employers. UFC President Dana White condemned the attack, calling it the most disgusting thing that’s ever happened in the history of the UFC. Given what it has cost the UFC both in the short term and the long term, the UFC’s most protected fighter may no longer be a sacred cow after this.

UFC 223 is set to suffer an additional financial hit with the removal of three fights due to the attack. Likewise, the UFC’s image is set to suffer from McGregor’s actions, with him being the undisputed face of the promotion. Should the UFC proceed with suspending or even banning Conor McGregor, the promotion will suffer financially, as he is their top attraction.

Getting Away with Violations

In the past, McGregor has gotten away with plenty of violations. He was involved in a bottle-throwing incident during his rivalry with Nate Diaz. He figured in a cage-rushing incident in a Bellator event. And so on. But because he lives by his own set of rules, we have seen never seen the UFC lift a finger and hand down disciplinary actions whatsoever.

Even when McGregor didn’t defend either of his two UFC belts, he was given plenty of time to hold onto the titles, thereby causing a logjam in two weight classes. After heavy criticism, he was finally relieved of the featherweight title. And now that he was days away from being officially stripped of the lightweight belt, he snapped and did the unthinkable.

With the evidence of this criminal act all over the internet, there is no need for an explanation or defense on his part. For the UFC, there is no more excuse to spare their spoiled superstar from the rod. Dana White, known for his white lies, has said everything right so far, condemning McGregor’s actions and hinting serious punishment. But we all know that the hardest part will be its enforcement.

More Bad News for the UFC

In another development, UFC 223 headliner Max Holloway, who was supposed to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title, was also deemed unfit to compete by the New York Athletic State Commission.

Holloway, who agreed to step in for the injured Tony Ferguson on six days’ notice, was reportedly having problems with making weight because of the circumstances of the fight. Although he personally wanted to proceed with the difficult weight cut, the commission prevented him from taking the scales for his own safety.

With four fights removed from the event, it remains to be seen how the UFC is going to save UFC 223. It was a disaster already when Tony Ferguson suffered a bizarre injury that forced him to withdraw from his bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov. It was the fourth time in as many times that a bout between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov has been canceled after being booked.

Lightweight Division Dilemma

Ferguson won the interim UFC lightweight title by defeating Kevin Lee at UFC 216 last October. He was supposed to fight Khabib for the undisputed title on Saturday night. The UFC’s lightweight division suffered a vacuum of power after McGregor failed to defend the lightweight belt after winning it from Eddie Alvarez at the historic UFC 205 in November of 2016. That vacancy was supposed to be filled out at UFC 223. Now the title picture is more confusing than ever.

When Holloway stepped in, White said that the fight would remain a title bout even if Blessed wasn’t ranked at 155. Holloway is the UFC’s undisputed featherweight champion but has never fought at lightweight in the UFC. Now that Holloway’s off the card, the rumor is that former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is going to fight Nurmagomedov.

Pettis was supposed to fight Michael Chiesa at UFC 223, but with his opponent hurt during the McGregor attack, Showtime is left without a dance partner. Pettis is currently just 12th in the 155-pound rankings because he competed at 145 pounds recently. But if he is indeed fighting Nurmagomedov on Saturday night, it is presumed that it will be for the lightweight title.