UFC issues statement in wake of Conor McGregor bus attack, says consequences will follow

 

Following a media event for the card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., lightweight champion Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) came into the building along with members of his team and ultimately attacked a bus containing fighters from UFC 223 and their teams, witness videos showed.

The attack on the bus included a broken window after McGregor threw a dolly, and the fallout from the whole thing has taken three fights off the card. McGregor teammate Artem Lobov (13-14-1 MMA, 2-4 UFC) was removed from his featherweight fight against Alex Caceres (13-11 MMA, 8-9 UFC) for his participation in the attack.

Michael Chiesa (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was sent to the hospital for cuts, and ultimately his fight against Anthony Pettis (20-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) was nixed by the New York State Atletic Commission. And Ray Borg (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will miss his flyweight fight against Brandon Moreno (14-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) after glass shards got in his eye from the broken window.

The UFC said there will be “consequences” for McGregor and Lobov for their roles, and said they are not welcome at Barclays Center this weekend.

The UFC’s full statement:

“During today’s media event at Barclays Center to promote ‘UFC 223: Khabib vs. Holloway,’ Conor McGregor and Artem Lobov entered the building accompanied by over a dozen individuals.

“The group, which included McGregor and Lobov, vandalized the vehicle that contained a number of athletes competing at the event taking place this weekend. NYPD was immediately alerted and is currently in the process of investigating the situation. UFC is working very closely with the New York Athletic Commission, Barclays Center security and law enforcement authorities. All parties are working together to ensure the highest standard of proper safety precautions are implemented to protect the fans and athletes.

“The organization deems today’s disruption completely unacceptable and is currently working on the consequences that will follow. Immediately, Lobov has been removed from this weekend’s card and individuals involved in the incident are not welcome at tomorrow’s ceremonial weigh-in or Saturday’s event at Barclays Center.”

The current UFC 223 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

Max Holloway vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov – for lightweight title

Champ Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for women’s strawweight title

Calvin Kattar vs. Renato Moicano

Paul Felder vs. Al Iaquinta

PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)

Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Joe Lauzon

Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Evan Dunham

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)

Kyle Bochniak vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov

Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Bec Rawlings

Devin Clark vs. Michael Rodriguez