CONOR McGREGOR has been released on bail after being charged with assault following a backstage disturbance at the UFC 223 media day in New York on Thursday.
The 29-year-old handed himself in to police after footage emerged online in which he appeared to throw a hand truck at a bus taking rival fighters away from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Irishman, one of only four men to have won UFC titles in two weight classes, had his case heard at a criminal court in Brooklyn and his bail was set at 50,000 US dollars (£35,500).
Both McGregor and Cian Cowley, also a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter – whose bail was set at 25,000 US dollars (£17,750) after he was charged with assault – are due to next appear at a New York court on June 14.
McGregor, who last fought when he was beaten by Floyd Mayweather in a boxing bout in August, was stripped of his UFC lightweight title on Thursday.
Later that day, the Irishman and an entourage were seen at a press conference for Saturday’s event.
Footage quickly emerged on the Instagram story of undercard fighter Felice Herrig – captioned ‘Conor McGregor causing trouble’.
At least two people were injured when the bus window shattered, forcing them to withdraw from fights at this weekend’s UFC event.
Michael Chiesa, who received “several facial cuts”, tweeted to say the New York State Athletic Commission had decided to pull him from his bout against Anthony Pettis.
UFC later released a statement, confirming Chiesa’s injuries, and also said flyweight Ray Borg would not be taking part in his fight against Brandon Moreno due to “multiple cornea abrasions”.
“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,” it said.
Update on UFC 223 fight card – https://t.co/ixwT17OdX4
— UFC (@ufc) April 6, 2018
“Flyweight Ray Borg, who was scheduled to face Brandon Moreno, was deemed unfit to fight as well due to multiple cornea abrasions.”
Artem Lobov, who was due to take part in a featherweight bout with Alex Caceres, was also removed from the card due to his “involvement in the incident”, UFC said.
In an earlier statement, it said: “The organisation deems today’s disruption completely unacceptable and is currently working on the consequences that will follow.
“Immediately, Lobov has been removed from this weekend’s card and individuals involved in the incident are not welcome at tomorrow’s ceremonial weigh-in or Saturday’s event at Barclays Center.”
The ugly scenes were condemned by UFC president Dana White, a long-time advocate of McGregor’s, who called the incident “one of the most disgusting things that’s happened in the history of the company”.
White revealed at a press conference that McGregor’s 155-pound championship will be up for grabs this weekend, with the Irishman having not fought in the Octagon since winning his belt in November 2016.
McGregor initially delivered a brief reaction, writing on Twitter: “You’s’ll strip me of nothing you’s do nothing c****”.
This Saturday’s show was supposed to be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s showdown against Max Holloway but the latter was deemed “unfit to fight”.
