Conor McGregor was stripped of his lightweight championship title this week
Dana White says an arrest warrant has been issued for Conor McGregor after the Irishman appeared to attack a coach carrying numerous UFC fighters at the Barclays Centre in New York.
McGregor and his teammates showed up at the end of media day ahead of this Saturday’s UFC 223 where he was filmed picking up railing before attempting to throw it at the coach.
The vehicle was carrying Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor’s long-term rival, and other UFC fighters back to their hotel after a media day at the Barclays Centre.
Warning: Graphic language
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/981966532703145984
Conor McGregor. Picks up guard rail. Attempts to throw it at bus. ABSOLUTE CHAOS IN NEW YORK. #UFC223 (Via Felice Herrig's IG story) pic.twitter.com/JYQZD7jtKP
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/jrsvx/status/981960460323848192
McGregor or a member of his team also threw metal chairs at Nurmagomedov’s van and even broke some of the vehicle’s windows, according to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.
I’ve seen video shot by fighters in the van. Very clear Conor is telling someone to get out of the van before being pulled away by security. Khabib and his team were in that particular van.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 5, 2018
Lightweight Michael Chiesa allegedly suffered a cut to his forehead during the fracas as attempts were made to restrain McGregor.
Chiesa’s coach Rick Little told MMAJunkie:
“Conor went bananas and put a beating on the van that we were in looking for Khabib.
A million security guards had to restrain him. Mike’s cut up now. He’s got marks on him, for sure. I don’t think too serious. Everything happened so fast, it was just like we got jumped.”
McGregor and Nurmagomedov have a rivalry that stretches all the way back to UFC 205 in 2016. However, the relationship turned into more than banter Wednesday. Running into each other in the fighters’ hotel, Nurmagomedov got into a verbal altercation with Artem Lobov, McGregor’s close friend.
“Never say my name. You got me? I didn’t hear you?! Motherf—-r,” Lobov apparently said.
“You didn’t say it? You didn’t say it? Don’t say these things again. Chechen man.”
In the wake of the incident UFC president, Dana White said:
“What happened today was criminal, disgusting and makes me sick.”
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 5, 2018
Dana White also claims that a warrant has been issued for McGregor’s arrest by the New York Police.
“There is a warrant out for McGregor’s arrest. They’re looking for him right now and his plane is grounded. I assume if they don’t catch him he will turn himself in. He’s going to be sued beyond belief and this is a very bad career move for him.”
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 5, 2018
Conor was stripped of his lightweight championship title this week, Dana White earlier announced that this weekend’s headline bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway at UFC 223 will be for McGregor’s lightweight championship, with the Dubliner absent from mixed martial arts since his victory over Eddie Alvarez in November 2016.
White said during a press conference on Wednesday while pointing towards both Nurmagomedov and Holloway.
“No interim champ. When this fight is over, champion, One of these guys will be the champion.”
But McGregor issued a response on Thursday that left little to the imagination about how he feels over White’s decision, with the two-time UFC champion reacting in a similar way to the last time he was stripped of a belt.
“You’s’ll [sic] strip me of nothing you’s do nothing c***s,” McGregor wrote on Twitter on Thursday morning.
