Conor needs a long-term suspension
THE head of Barclays Center has banned UFC’s superstar Conor McGregor from attending UFC 223 on Saturday night after McGregor was charged with felony criminal mischief and multiple misdemeanor counts for attacking a bus of MMA fighters following a press conference at the arena Thursday.
Brett Yormark, the CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, made it clear he doesn’t want McGregor setting foot in the arena. “He’s not welcome here this weekend,” Yormark told The Post on Friday. “We’re not going to tolerate anything like what happened [Thursday]. We’re going to reinforce all of our traditional safety measures to make sure we have a safe environment for our fans and our competitors. But one thing is for sure, he’s not welcomed here this weekend.”
The UFC should do more. It should ban McGregor for at least one year. He not only destroyed property, but the out-of-control Irishman put the careers of other MMA fighters in jeopardy, not to mention endangering security personnel working at Barclays Center. It was a criminal act that can’t be tolerated.
McGregor hasn’t fought for the UFC since UFC 205, when he captured the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez at the Garden, but UFC president Dana White said Wednesday that McGregor was “100 percent coming back this year.” That, however, was before he went berserk Thursday, trying to retaliate for an incident earlier this week between lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov and McGregor’s teammate, Artem Lobov.
The UFC issued a statement Thursday that read in part: “The organization deems today’s disruption completely unacceptable and is currently working on the consequences that will follow.” White, in an interview with ESPN, called McGregor’s actions: “the most disgusting thing that has ever happened” in UFC history. He said he would explore further sanctions against McGregor after UFC 223.
The repercussions for McGregor’s actions could be devastating. Not only is the biggest star in the UFC facing criminal charges that could end up on the wrong side of the NYPD and the New York State Athletic Commission, the UFC was left scrambling to keep together a card that lost at least four fighters.
Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg suffered cuts from broken glass when McGregor threw a dolly that smashed the window of the bus they were on. Both fighters were removed from their respective bouts. Meanwhile, Max Holloway, the reigning UFC featherweight champion, had to withdraw from his main event bout with Nurmagomedov after the NYSAC ended his weight-cut for fear of his safety. Nurmagomedov will fight, however, as UFC announced Friday that Al Iaquinta of Garden City, L.I., will take Holloway’s place. Lobov, who was scheduled to fight Alex Caceres, was also named as an offending party and was pulled from the card. There were rumors McGregor was planning to work Lobov’s corner Saturday night, which could explain his surprise arrival in Brooklyn.
What’s sad is McGregor’s publicity stunt took all the attention from the UFC 223 card now being held together by threads. The rematch for the UFC women’s strawweight championship between Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland should be the focus instead of McGregor. Namajunas was a big underdog when she upset Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 at the Garden.
“This weekend was not about Conor McGregor,” Yormark said. “It was about bringing the UFC back to Brooklyn. Unfortunately, he seemed to want to put the spotlight on himself which is unfortunate. Hopefully, the focus can get back to what it should be on.”
McGregor’s return to the UFC would be a huge event worth millions upon millions, but he’s not bigger than the company or the safety of other fighters. The UFC needs to send that message loud and clear.
Junior middleweight world champions Erislandy Lara and Jarrett Hurd meet in a 154-pound unification boxing match Saturday in Las Vegas. Showtime will televise. IBF super middleweight champ Caleb Truax is also scheduled to defend his title in a rematch against former champion James DeGale. Julian Williams and Nathaniel Gallimore open the triple-header with a non-title bout.