With the UFC’s big New York City debut looking not so big without Ronda Rousey or Jon Jones to headline it, all eyes are on Conor McGregor to save the card. But Conor could be in enough trouble with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to keep him off that card as well. It all stems from a near brawl at the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference that ended with McGregor, Nate Diaz, and the Diaz entourage throwing water bottles and cans of energy drink at each other and into a crowd.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t make too much of a fuss when it happened, deferring any comment or action until it came up during a commission meeting. But now the Nevada Attorney General has filed official complaints against both McGregor and Diaz saying they’re guilty of conduct that is “detrimental to a contest or exhibition of unarmed combat.”
This is a higher up in the Nevada system telling the NSAC to throw the book at these two fighters. In another similar incident from Nevada, Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier got into a brawl that spilled out into the crowd. They were both fined 10% of their purses and given community service. A similar 10% fine against McGregor and Diaz would involve much more money, as McGregor made $3 million and Diaz made $2 million in disclosed payouts. Suspensions could also be thrown at both fighters and any of Nate’s posse that participated (including Jake Shields, who is set to headline a World Series of Fighting event in November).
The commission is set to hold a hearing on the subject October 10, which doesn’t give the UFC much time to sort things out for their New York card should something happen to Conor McGregor. While most are expecting this will boil down to a fine (aka a money grab according to the more cynical MMA fans), there’s always a possibility Nevada will throw the book at someone, like they did when they tried to suspend Nick Diaz for five years over a questionable marijuana drug test failure.