Conor McGregor Explained Why He Attacked The Referee After Climbing Into The Cage At Bellator 187

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In case you somehow missed it, “The Notorious One” Conor McGregor more than lived up to his name when he jumped into the cage to celebrate what he believed to be his teammate Charlie Ward’s knockout victory over John Redmond at Bellator 187.

Not everyone was so sure that Ward had actually won, however.

The fight was eventually called a knockout win for Ward once order was somewhat restored (McGregor later slapped a commissioner outside the cage).

Redmond, however, wasn’t so sure that the fight would have been over if McGregor hadn’t jumped in and wreaked absolute havoc, according to an interview he did with MMA Fighting.

After initially leaving the cage, McGregor did an about turn and marched back to the stage shouting, “that was a f*cking stoppage”, suggesting that there was a debate as to whether the fight would enter the second round.

Redmond insisted that [referee Marc] Goddard wanted the fight to continue, but the Mohegan Sun commission, who oversaw Bellator 187, decided that the fight should not go on. For Redmond, the “circus” that McGregor created in the ring forced the commission to put an end to the fight as quickly as possible.

“I think there was a lot of panic in the ring as soon as he got in there. I think everybody was just concerned with getting him out of there as quickly as possible,” Redmond said.

“Marc Goddard was going to let the fight go into the second, but then the commission seemed to overrule his decision. I think that decision was swayed because of the circus and madness that was going down at the time. It was just a mad scene. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

McGregor, who already had one recent run-in with referee Marc Goddard when Goddard tossed Conor from ringside at UFC Gdansk, finally explained in a now-deleted tweet, why he went after Goddard inside the cage. It lines up pretty well with what Redmond believed was the case with the fight.

“Bloke KO’d on the floor bout a minute straight and ref trying to say fights not over conor. that’s when I lost it. Fuck yous all,” tweeted McGregor.

Mike Mazzulli, the president of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC), issued a statement over the weekend that he had been in contact with the UFC, reports MMA Fighting

While the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation (MTDAR) was regulating Bellator 187 in Dublin, Ireland, on November 10, 2017, the following events took place during the Ward vs Redmond bout.

Mr. Conor McGregor who was a spectator at the time, disrupted the event by scaling the cage prior to the conclusion of the bout. Mr. McGregor’s conduct jeopardized the health and safety of the bout participants by delaying necessary medical attention to the fighters that were injured during the round.

In addition, Mr. McGregor assaulted Referee Mark [sic] Goddard and a Bellator staff.

The MTDAR has been in consultation with the upper management of the UFC regarding Mr. McGregor’s inappropriate and unacceptable behavior.

The MTDAR has also contacted members of the Association of Boxing Commissioners that have licensed Mr. McGregor in their jurisdictions to inform them of Mr. McGregor’s behavior.

As far as any actual punishment being doled out to McGregor, that would have to come from a commission that licenses the UFC lightweight champion.

Stay tuned.

H/T Unilad

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