Menacing McGregor free on $50,000 bail after bus incident
MMA champion arrested for creating ruckus at a UFC event in New York City
Cocksure and uncouth, Conor McGregor was never afraid to defy authority. He dressed in fur coats and swung chairs at news conferences, reaped the riches of his dalliance with boxing, and demanded his boss cut him an ownership stake in the MMA promotion that made him one of the sport’s most notorious names.
What McGregor wanted, McGregor got — in cash, championships, and living his best luxe life. After one more decisive victory in New York, McGregor scaled the UFC octagon and draped two championship belts over his shoulder while a sold-out crowd roared in approval.
In the underbelly of a New York arena 17 months later, McGregor went wild, using a dolly, chairs and guard rails as weapons, not his fists. Fuelled by revenge and running with a pack of his “hoodlums,” McGregor’s antics landed him in jail — and injured two fighters on Saturday’s UFC 223 card. Quiet and humbled, McGregor couldn’t talk his way out of trouble in a New York courtroom. McGregor was arraigned Friday on charges of felony criminal mischief charges and misdemeanour assault, menacing and reckless endangerment charges following a backstage melee he sparked at a UFC event in New York City. ■
He spoke only to acknowledge that he understood the conditions of his release, saying, “Yes, your honour.”
McGregor was released on $50,000 bond — pocket change for a fighter who was guaranteed $30 million last year in his ballyhooed boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. McGregor is due back in court June 14.
UFC President Dana White said on Friday he spoke to McGregor via text and the brawler said the confrontation “had to be done.” “It was probably the worst conversation we ever had.”