The Charges Include One Felony And Three Misdemeanors
UFC Superstar Conor McGregor has been charged by the New York police with one count of felony criminal mischief and three counts of misdemeanor assault after turning himself in following an incident he was involved in, according the the NYPD.
McGregor, 29, arrived at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY for UFC 223 and that’s when chaos took place.
According to multiple reports, McGregor and several of his teammates and coaches ran into the venue, throwing chairs, garbage cans and bike racks at a bus with fighters on it. The videos, one from inside the bus and one from outside the bus, can be seen below via TMZSports’ YouTube Page.
A total of three fights have been called off due to the melee.
Lightweight Michael Chiesa was scheduled to fight former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis Saturday night, was cut by the glass from the window that was shattered on the bus. Now, Chiesa’s fight with Pettis has been cancelled. Chiesa spoke about being pulled from the fight on his twitter.
A decision was made by the New York State Athletic Commission to pull me from UFC 223. I’m devastated to say the least. @Showtimepettis I hope to run this match up ASAP, June 9th in your backyard. That’s all I have to say for now. Much love.
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) April 6, 2018
Cian Cowley, an MMA fighter who was in the group with McGregor attacking the bus, was also charged with assault and criminal mischief.
The flyweight bout between Ray Borg and Brandon Moreno is also cancelled due to Borg getting glass in his eye.
McGregor’s actions take place after a heated confrontation between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Artem Lobov, a longtime training partner of McGregor. Lobov was scheduled to fight Saturday night, but has since been pulled after it was reported he was apart of the crew who stormed the arena with McGregor.
It’s unknown who McGregor was arguing with, but Nurmagomedov is fighting for McGregor’s title which he is expected to be stripped of at UFC 223 and was reportedly on the bus. Nurmagomedov is fighting featherweight champion Max Halloway for the lightweight title which McGregor currently holds, but hasn’t defended the belt since winning it at UFC 205 in November 206.
“To be honest, I don’t want (McGregor) to go to jail,” Nurmagomedov told MMAFighting.com. “We have to fight. If we have to fight, let’s fight. Send me location. Please, we have to fix this. Me and you. One-on-one. You want 10-on-10? OK. I give his whole team slap and no one say anything. He comes with media, with cameras when I’m alone. Of course I want to go outside, but they don’t let me leave the bus. He knows this. They do nothing. I’m here.”
UFC President Dana White sat down with ESPN and called McGregor’s action’s “the most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of our company”. The interview can be see below via ESPN’s YouTube page.
