Madness in Dublin thanks to @TheNotoriousMMA!!! DO NOT miss #Bellator187 TONIGHT on @spike 9/8c pic.twitter.com/BGWcOBDvFb
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 10, 2017
Bellator got a sudden and wild boost in exposure when Conor Mcgregor hopped the cage and dove into the arms of his victorious teammate Charlie Ward on Friday, then pushed referee Marc Goddard and slapped a member of the athletic commission in the cage. It was insane, and the latest in a long line of instances in which McGregor has lost his mind during a teammate’s fight.
On one hand, it’s awesome to see the ultra-wealthy McGregor still so passionate and loyal to the people he came up with, on the other, he made his teammate’s win about him, violated multiple rules and regulations and assaulted two people. Director of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation and the president of Association of Boxing Commission Mike Mazzulli, who served as regulatory head of the event, has reportedly taken steps against McGregor, and the superstar has supposedly been pulled from December 30th’s UFC 219 show in anticipation of the punishment. He wrote:
“Mr. Conor McGregor, who was a spectator at the time, disrupted the event by scaling the cage prior to the conclusion of the bout,” the statement read. “Mr. McGregor’s conduct jeopardized the health and safety of the bout participants by delaying necessary medical attention to the fighters that were injured during the round. In addition, Mr. McGregor assaulted Referee Mark [sic] Goddard and a Bellator staff. The MTDAR has been in consultation with the upper management of the UFC regarding Mr. McGregor’s inappropriate and unacceptable behavior.”
This means a few things. One — McGregor was going to fight again this year. Two — Tony Ferguson is going to have to wait even longer to fight McGregor now, possibly up to nine months (which is hilarious and sad), and the UFC is going to be seriously pissed.
Mazzuli continued to discuss the incident on the MMA Hour, saying:
“After the event, I had some executives from UFC contact me within two hours after what occurred. They basically said to me that it was completely unacceptable in their eyes and that they will be doing something. They did inform me that he was set to be on the Dec. 30 card and he will not be on it. So I do commend UFC to some extent for doing that.”
In a tweet that’s since been deleted, McGregor didn’t sound repentant. “Bloke KO’d on floor bout a minute straight and ref trying to say, ‘fight’s not over Conor. That’s when I lost it. F*ck you’s all.” Very Conor.
https://twitter.com/SecretMovesMMA/status/930110831500677122
Now here’s Chael Sonnen, with an excellent explanation of why Conor McGregor will be looking at a multi-month suspension, up to nine months or more.
By the time McGregor comes back, it’ll be a perfect time to fight Oscar de la Hoya.
(Via CBS Sports)
