Finally the curtain’s been drawn on Conor McGregor’s UFC 223 bus scandal. The former two-category champ was summoned to a court hearing this Thursday (Jul 26) for displaying his notorious side by attacking UFC fighters and staff travelling on a bus along with several other charges.
In response to his arrest on charge of 12 criminal acts and two accounts of felonies, McGregor pleaded guilty of one act of misconduct during the hearing.
Background
Irish born MMA prodigy was caught up in a legal battle when he displayed his prowess outside the octagon by attacking a pre-fight press conference and a buss full of fellow fighters. Though he was charged of many offences that could have led to seven years in prison, his timely plea saved him from the disgrace. Now The Notorious will only serve for five days in community service, while attending anger-management classes and compensating the bus company for the damage. McGregor’s legal team had been toiling hard to help him evade a prolonged sentence and negotiated a plea with Judge Raymond Rodriguez, who subsequently dropped several illegal charges against the MMA fighter.
If McGregor stays put in fulfilling the terms of his plea deal, the Irish player would be saved from serving in the jail, keeping his record clean. Since the fighter has an immigration status, the deal would remove any risk of deportation and a jeopardized fighting career.
The hearing ended with the judge issuing protection for fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg from McGregor, who were injured as result of the attack. The fighter is advised to not to go near them until July 2020.
A composed Conor McGregor stepped out of court and made the following statement:
“I just want to say that I am thankful to the DA and the judge for allowing me to move forward. I want to say to my friends, my family, and my fans, thank you for your support.”
UFC 223 Bus Scandal
Earlier this year on April 5, Conor McGregor along with other fellow fighters including Artem Lobov and Cian Cowley rushed to the Barclay’s Center loading dock. McGregor, in a fist of fury threw an appliance dolly, which hit the bus window, shattering the mirror down. There were many UFC fighters seated in the bus including Nurmagomedov, Chiesa, Borg, and Namajunas including others. Nurmagomedov survived the attack Chiesa and Borg faced injuring leading to their removal from the UFC 223 fight card.
Lobov was part of UFC’s event, but due to this involvement in the attack, the Russian artist was immediately disqualified, ending in all fights cancellation due to attack on the three contenders of UFC 223.
McGregor’s last appearance in the cage was in UFC 205 in 2016 when he snatched away lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez. His win marked him as a dual-division champ. Owning to his ill-famed repute outside the ring, the Irish fighter had to renounce his champ status, with Nurmagomedov holding the lightweight belt and Holloway donning the featherweight title presently.
Since McGregor’s plea has washed all charges against him, it is likely that The Notorious will be looking to fight Nurmagomedov again – hopefully inside the octagon this time.
