This weekend, Conor McGregor was really feeling himself during the UFC’s main rival promotion, Bellator, at an event in Dublin, Ireland.
After his teammate Charlie Ward (4-3) scored a first-round TKO over John Redmond (7-13), “The Notorious” did the unthinkable and hopped the cage fence into the fighting surface after running around the cage. If that wasn’t enough, McGregor took a swipe at a Bellator employee who tried to curtail his entrance over the fence. After jumping into his teammate’s arms and launching him onto the canvas, McGregor went after referee Marc Goddard, who shoved him off to officiate the final decision.
Bellator MMA on Twitter
Madness in Dublin thanks to @TheNotoriousMMA!!! DO NOT miss #Bellator187 TONIGHT on @spike 9/8c https://t.co/BGWcOBDvFb
The highlight of the evening should have been A.J. McKee’s (10-0) unbeaten streak moving to 10 wins with his third round main event finish over Brian Moore via rear naked choke. However, McGregor had to steal the show from the outset of the broadcast with his extremely unprofessional antics.
Bellator 187 was sanctioned by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation (MTDAR) and the Association of Boxing Commisioners (ABC), who’s President, Mike Mazzulli, sent a statement to media outlets regarding the incident:
“While the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation (MTDAR) was regulating Bellator 187 in Dublin, Ireland, on November 10, 2017, the following events took place during the Ward vs Redmond bout.
“Mr. Conor McGregor who was a spectator at the time, disrupted the event by scaling the cage prior to the conclusion of the bout. 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 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.
“The MTDAR has also contacted members of the Association of Boxing Commissioners that have licensed Mr. McGregor in their jurisdictions to inform them of Mr. McGregor’s behavior.”
McGregor has been feeling himself prior to and definitely after his boxing debut loss to Floyd “Money” Mayweather. As the only fighter to hold two belts simultaneously in two different weight classes, albeit briefly, McGregor knows his worth. But he has allowed it to alter his judgment.
Although he should be applauded for challenging UFC brass to compensate him better and let him into the owner’s box, he has gained his fame in part to being racially exploitative and has been on the cusp of demagoguery. When he first insulted black women during the May Mac World Tour “press conference” at the Barclays Center, it was a violation of the UFC Athletic Code of Conduct created in 2013.
One important tenet of the Code reads that no UFC fighter can do the following:
Derogatory or offensive conduct, including without limitation insulting language, symbols, or actions about a person’s ethnic background, heritag, color, race, national origin, age, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.
When former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione disrespected transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox on Twitter for competing against women in the professional ranks, swift action was taken and he was the first fighter suspended for the action. Furthermore, the core principle of the UFC Code of Conduct is:
Fighters shall conduct themselves in accordance with commonly accepted standards of decency, social convention, and morals, and fighter’s will not commit any act or become involved in any situation or occurrence or make any statement which will reflect negatively upon or bring disrepute, contempt, scandal, ridicule or disdain to the fighter or the UFC.
The UFC already dropped the ball for not checking McGregor after his disrespect of black womanhood, not surprising since the UFC has always shown its lack of care for its audience of color. Today, Conor posted then deleted a tweet, telling the world how he feels about the incident. And as usual, it’s in signature poor taste.
However, will they do anything now that McGregor has placed the lives of athletes in danger? Storming a cage before the referee or doctors can check for concussions or other major injuries just to celebrate is more than disrespectful. It is dangerous.
How long will Dana White, Ari Emanuel and the UFC allow their cash cow to run amok before reeling in the reins and making an example of him? Only time will tell, but if time memory serves correct, the UFC loves money way more than good practice.
