Despite the ongoing preparations for his monumental UFC 229 title clash with arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, lightweight contender Conor McGregor’s legal troubles away from the Octagon appear to have reared their head once again.
The Dubliner’s criminal case for his involvement in the UFC 223 bus attack in the Barclays Centre at the end of July is now over, but one of the blue corner fighters involved in the incident, Michael Chiesa, has initiated civil legal proceedings against ‘The Notorious’ one.
Chiesa is suing for damages relating to emotional distress, economical loss and physical injuries, specifically broken glass leaving Chiesa with cuts to his forehead caused by McGregor throwing a dolly through the window of the bus. Those facial injuries resulted in The Maverick’s removal from his scheduled fight with Anthony Pettis with both men eventually clashing at UFC 226 with Pettis scoring a triangle armbar submission victory over the Aurora native.
The grappling ace has included the Barclays Center in the claim, citing negligence on their part in allowing the incident to unfold in the first place.
Chiesa also believes that the bus incident and subsequent removal from the card led to him losing a possible title opportunity.
After Max Holloway was removed as Tony Ferguson’s late replacement due health issues relating to his short notice weight cut, both Pettis and fellow Lightweight Paul Felder failing to come to terms with the promotion to face Khabib. New York native Al Iaquinta was eventually drafted in to face the undefeated Dagestani, but many believe Chiesa’s higher ranking at 155lbs would’ve resulted in him getting the opportunity to challenge Khabib for the now vacant crown. Thanks to the injury he sustained in the incident, that wasn’t to be and the opportunity was lost.
As far as we are aware, McGregor hasn’t been internally punished for his actions last April and is currently in fight camp for his October 6th clash with Khabib Nurmagomedov as he attempts to become a two-time lightweight title holder at UFC 229.
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