UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor was at the center of controversy again after hopping the cage at Bellator 187 to celebrate a victory with teammate Charlie Ward.
Association Of Boxing Commissions & Combative Sports (ABC) Mike Mazzulli says that the UFC took McGregor off UFC 219 as punishment for his recent actions.
“They already sanctioned him (by not letting him fight at UFC 219),” Mazzulli said on The MMA Hour. “So they did hit him. He’s not gonna be making any more money this year and I commend UFC for that. I really do.”
It should be noted that the UFC never officially announced McGregor as a competitor at the event.
Audie Attar is the agent for McGregor and when MMA Fighting approached him about Mazzulli’s claims, there was a two word response given.
“Not true,” said Attar.
The main event of UFC 219 has yet to be announced, even though it is now less than six weeks before the final UFC event of the year.
If it were up to Mazzulli, the president of the ABC would issue the UFC Lightweight Champion a much harsher punishment.
“I would suspend him indefinitely and i would require him to come to a hearing and defend himself,” Mazzulli said. “Again, I go back to the safety of the fighter. At the end of the day, Mr. Redmond was down, he was unconscious, he was dizzy and we were unable to provide medical attention to him, because [McGregor] had to dance around that cage and push Mr. Goddard — assault Mr. Goddard, as well as one of the Bellator employees. That’s completely unacceptable. I wouldn’t even allow somebody in the audience to do that.”
McGregor recently issued an apology for his actions, while the UFC has yet to comment on the situation in any way.
