MMA Fighter Conor McGregor arrested after attack on bus in NYC

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor turned himself in to New York police after a warrant was put out for his arrest. He was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief after he and his crew attacked a bus carrying UFC fighters. The incident took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after a media event leading up to Saturday night’s UFC 223 fight set to be held there. Three matches originally scheduled for Saturday have now been cancelled due to the incident.

McGregor, along with fellow fighter Cian Cowley, are accused of throwing several objects through the window of a bus, injuring a passenger. Michael Chiesa, a fighter scheduled to fight this Saturday, suffered several lacerations on his face and had to go to the hospital. He was deemed unfit to fight after being examined by the New York State Athletic Commission and the UFC medical team. Ray Borg, a flyweight fighter, was also deemed unfit to fight after suffering corneal abrasions. Video posted to social media shows McGregor and several of his friends picking up guardrails and throwing them at the bus.

Conor McGregor by Andrius Petrucenia via CC 2.0

UFC President Dana White told reporters this morning that he has been in contact with McGregor, where he attempted to justify his actions. White said the assault took place due to bad blood between McGregor and Nurmagomedov, a Russian fighter who was scheduled to fight for McGregor’s vacated belt as the main event for Saturday’s fight.

White said that McGregor and his crew gained access to the arena with help from “people on the inside” who were working coverage for the media event. “These buses are full of a ton of fighters and their cornermen,” White said. “And they’re just throwing things into the windows not caring who they hit.”

White was quick to dismiss any rumors that this was all a big publicity stunt to garner more attention for UFC. “This is the last stunt on Earth we would ever pull. I mean, this is embarrassing for the sport and obviously for the UFC.” He also added that McGregor will not receive any assistance with legal battles from the UFC, telling ESPN “Normally, yes — I would dive right in and do everything in my power to help one of my guys, but not in this situation. He came into the Barclays Center, attacked our fighters, and attacked my staff with a bunch of guys — no. You don’t get my help on this one.”

McGregor took home the lightweight title in 2016 by defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, but has recently stepped away from MMA in order to train for last year’s lucrative boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. Before the altercation took place, White was optimistic about McGregor’s return to UFC, saying he “is coming back this year, 100 percent.” However, after this, McGregor’s future relationship with the UFC is up in the air.