UFC athlete Conor McGregor is to be charged over alleged assault of a man in a pub in Dublin earlier this year, according to reports.
CCTV footage emerged yesterday, August 15, of the fighter’s apparent brawl with a man at the Marble Arch pub in Drimnagh, South Dublin, which took place in April this year.
Now, McGregor has been summoned to Dublin District Court following the incident. If convicted, he will have to pay a fine for the offence.
According to TMZ, the incident occurred when Conor wanted to buy a round of drinks for the people in the pub, and lined up a row of glasses. However, the other man involved in the fight refused the drink, which – it seems – McGregor didn’t take too kindly to.
It’s currently unclear if words were exchanged, but CCTV footage reportedly shows the UFC fighter unexpectedly throwing a punch in the face of the man. Two people then immediately pulled McGregor out of the bar.
McGregor reportedly faces a minor assault charge over the incident, as the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled there was enough evidence to charge him, The Sun reports.
According to report, McGregor was in the pub for less than 10 minutes. The man who was struck seems to have refused a drink offered to him, and continued sitting at the bar. After Conor allegedly struck him, the man seems unfazed, reportedly finishing his pint before getting a taxi home.
You can watch the footage here:
McGregor will now have to appear in court in response to the charges against him.
Speaking to TMZ, president of the UFC Dana White addressed the debacle.
White said:
You’re talking about a pub in Ireland. Know how many guys get punched in the face every day in a pub in Ireland? Yeah, a lot.
But, this is a high-profile guy. The bottom line is when you’re not a regular guy, you’re a high-profile guy, and you’re a professional fighter, you can’t do it. That you can’t do.
When you’re Conor McGregor, you can’t do it.
This isn’t McGregor’s first run-in with the law, of course, after narrowly avoiding a felony change in New York last year for smashing a bus window while other UFC fighters were onboard, and reportedly smashing a fan’s phone in Miami.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.