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UFC president says McGregor's rampage was the 'most disgusting thing in UFC history'

Dana White did not hold back in his assessment of Conor McGregor’s behaviour at Barclays Center this afternoon.

UFC PRESIDENT DANA White branded Conor McGregor’s actions “the most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of the company” after the Irishman sparked unsavoury scenes at a UFC event in Brooklyn this afternoon.

McGregor and his entourage gatecrashed a UFC 223 media event at Barclays Center, leaving lightweight fighter Michael Chiesa – scheduled to fight Anthony Pettis in the same arena on Saturday – hospitalised with facial cuts.

White described McGregor’s actions as “disgusting” and “despicable”, and confirmed the Irishman’s SBG gym-mate Artem Lobov has been pulled from his slot at UFC 223 due to his role in the chaos.

He also confirmed that it was McGregor who threw the chair which broke a bus window and inflicted facial damage on Chiesa, suggesting the UFC will take action against its soon-to-be former lightweight champion in due course.

The organisation’s president claimed in the same media scrum that a warrant has been issued for McGregor’s arrest, but the NYPD have stated that this is not currently the case. According to several reports, however, they are looking for the 29-year-old Dubliner and wish to speak with him about today’s incident.

“What happened here today was that Conor and 20 guys were apparently let through the door by The Mac Life [website] guys, who are credentialed here,” White told a media scrum. “They opened the doors for him, through an entrance.

“They [McGregor and co] stormed the building, got down to the loading dock where the fighters were getting on the buses and started to attack the buses – throwing trash cans and dollies and things like that. [They] broke one of the windows and cut Michael Chiesa really bad: he cut his head, cut his face.

“Rose Namajunas [UFC women's strawweight champ] was apparently almost hit. She’s super upset right now. She basically walked back to the hotel.”

White claimed a UFC employee’s knuckles were also damaged, and other minor injuries were sustained.

“Obviously, everybody’s shaken up when 30 thugs storm a [media day]… These guys are cutting weight, getting ready for a fight.

This is the most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of the company. You can imagine he’s going to be sued beyond belief, and this was a real bad career move for him.

White explained that his working relationship with McGregor was now “not good”, adding: “After this move, I think everybody’s relationship with Conor is going to be not so great.

“I mean, even the police officer who came to me about this was like: ‘God, I was a fan of his, too.’ Not anymore. This is the type of bad decision you make that turns a lot of people against you.”

After adding that he doesn’t want to work with McGregor again – presently at least – White said: “…to come and do this – and act like this… You’re talking about a guy who has a baby. The guy has a kid. This is how you’re acting? You have a son at home.”

He then confirmed that McGregor’s SBG gym-mate Artem Lobov had been pulled from UFC 223 for his involvement in the unsavoury events, telling reporters: “Artem’s not fighting – Artem’s off the card.”

White concluded: “We, as an organisation, need to make sure this never happens again.”

His full media-scrum assessment can be viewed here.

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Gavan Casey
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