The New York Police Department said Conor McGregor has been arrested and charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief following a disturbance at the UFC 223 media day in New York.
Sky Sports quoted an NYPD spokesperson as saying the 29-year-old Irish fighter was in custody and would be kept there until a court hearing on Friday morning. Police had questioned McGregor, who was stripped of his UFC lightweight title on Thursday, after he gatecrashed the UFC 223 media day, sparking chaotic scenes.
According to the report, video footage had emerged on social media of McGregor and his entourage storming into the Barclays Center and making their presence felt. A video on the Instagram story of Felice Herrig, who fights at UFC 223, was captioned "Conor McGregor causing trouble" and appeared to show him attempting to throw a guardrail and chairs at a bus full of fighters.
She then said: "Tsk Tsk Conor McGregor. Are you happy now? Your little tangent injured Michael Chiesa, who is supposed to be fighting and now might not be able to fight at UFC 223."
The NYPD said several persons had been injured as the bus window was smashed leading to the cancellation of three fights earlier billed for this weekend. Michael Chiesa who also sustained facial cuts announced on his twitter handle that the New York State Athletic Commission had decided to pull him from his bout against Anthony Pettis.
Speaking to his opponent, he said "I'm devastated to say the least. @Showtimepettis I hope to run this match up ASAP, June 9th in your backyard. That's all I have to say for now. Much love."
Meanwhile, UFC has since released a statement confirming the cancellation of the fight. "Lightweight Michael Chiesa, who received several facial cuts, was deemed unfit to fight by the New York State Athletic Commission and the UFC medical team, and he was removed from his bout against Anthony Pettis. Flyweight Ray Borg, who was scheduled to face Brandon Moreno, was deemed unfit to fight as well due to multiple cornea abrasions."
