*****11 p.m. ET UPDATE: Conor McGregor has turned himself into the NYPD, according to NBC.*****
*****10 p.m. ET UPDATE: Three fights have been cancelled for Saturday’s UFC 223 event: Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno, Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis and Artem Lobov vs. Alex Caceres have all been cancelled. *****
Some breaking news from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the site of this Saturday’s UFC 223 card. According to numerous media reports as well as footage caught on camera that is making the rounds on social media, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor was involved in a serious assault in the loading dock of the Barclays Center that has injured at least one fighter set to compete at UFC 223, as well as broken up a scheduled fight. According to UFC president Dana White, New York police have isssued a warrant for McGregor’s arrest, although since then other media reports say that might not be the case. Either way, McGregor looks to be in serious legal trouble at the moment.
According to White, who spoke to MMA reporters (video via MMAjunkie’s Facebook page), McGregor and his team of at least 20 to 30 men were let into the Barclays Center by members of TheMacLife. According to White, McGregor and his team of “thugs” (White’s words) began to throw objects such as trash cans, chairs, bike racks and dollys at a bus carrying UFC fighters. White said that UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa, who is set to take on Anthony Pettis this Saturday night, suffered numerous cuts and lacerations from a broken bus window and was sent to hospital. Here’s the video of McGregor allegedly breaking a window and hurting Chiesa. There’s no word yet on whether or not Chiesa will still fight for sure, though Ariel Helwani reports he is leaning on fighting and is in the process of cutting weight. White also added that UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas was shaken up by the incident, although she managed to walk away without injury.
White also said that one of McGregor’s team members, Artem Lobov, who was set to fight Alex Caceres on the preliminary card this weekend, will be taken off the card. There’s no word yet if Caceres will remain on the card or if he will get a short-notice replacement opponent, though with the weigh-ins set to take place tomorrow it’s likely that will not be the case.
White referred to this incident as one of the “most disgusting acts” he’s seen in UFC history. White believes McGregor will not only be in serious legal troubles, but also could be at risk of being sued by the fighters he injured on the bus. When asked if White still wanted to promote McGregor, he said he was not happy with him at the moment and did not want to even think about his future with the company.
This incident caps off what has been a miserable week for the UFC, with Tony Ferguson pulling out of his main event lightweight title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov due to a freak injury and getting replaced by Max Holloway on short notice.
Stay tuned to MMAOddsbreaker.com for more information on this McGregor incident as it develops, and whether or not any more fights set for UFC 223 will be cancelled.
